Hainan responds to extensive flooding

Extensive flooding and landslides have wreaked havoc in Hainan province, claiming seven lives as of Wednesday, as the tail of Typhoon Trami collided with a cold air mass and triggered unusually heavy rainfall for 48 hours starting on Monday.

The deaths include a student who fell into a manhole in Sanya and drowned, a mother and son who were swept away by floodwaters in Qionghai, and three others who were buried in a mountain landslide in the Qiongzhong Li and Miao autonomous county.

The trail of destruction left behind by Trami — the 20th typhoon of the year — prompted the Hainan Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief to announce a Level I emergency response for flooding and strong winds in Qionghai on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Water Resources issued a Level IV emergency response to flooding in the whole province to buffer the lingering impact of the tropical storm.

China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe.

In Sanya, heavy rainfall on Monday and Tuesday caused extensive flooding, with the backflow of seawater further worsening the situation.

In Qionghai, the swollen Wanquan River caused severe flooding in seven towns along its banks, inundating 123 villages, according to local authorities. The Wanquan River Road was more than half a meter underwater on Wednesday morning, bringing vehicular movement to a complete halt.

The towns of Shibi and Longjiang in Qionghai were among the hardest hit, with the floods disrupting road traffic and causing communication lines to break down.

Authorities said that rescue efforts were underway to transfer people and livestock to safety.

By 3 pm on Wednesday, 7,168 people had been relocated in Qionghai, according to Liu Gong, director of the publicity division of the Hainan Provincial Department of Emergency Management. The Hainan Province Fire and Rescue General Brigade has deployed resources, including 56 fire trucks, 292 personnel and 48 boats for rescue operations, Liu said.

Military teams also assisted in emergency response and relocation efforts in Qionghai, where helicopters were used to evacuate stranded people and transport relief supplies.

All primary and secondary schools in the city suspended classes until Thursday.

The Ministry of Water Resources has sent a working group to the area to guide flood response, putting a priority on evacuating people from high-risk areas.