Floodwaters Rise in China’s Northeast as Rains Lash Heilongjiang Province

As residual rain from a typhoon drifted to northeast China, Heilongjiang province on Friday warned of swelling rivers amid severe weather and even tornadoes as storms pounded cities, including the already waterlogged provincial capital, Harbin.


Grain-producing Heilongjiang is the latest place hit by Doksuri, which has caused deaths, displaced thousands and put China's disaster-response systems to the test after swamping Beijing and nearby cities since making landfall in the south a week earlier.


Heilongjiang was forecast on Friday to experience strong convective weather, including short-term heavy precipitation, thunderstorms and strong winds, as well as localized torrential downpours in northern Qiqihar.


Heavy rains were forecast for western Jixi and southern Mudanjiang, while the northern part of the Hei river, northern Suihua, southern Harbin, the Qitai River, and eastern Jixi could see moderate rains.


Heilongjiang, also home to China's oldest and biggest oilfield in Daqing, said cumulative rainfall in some townships could exceed 10 centimeters within hours amid continuous rain.


The province also flagged "very high" risks of secondary disasters such as mountain torrents, urban and rural waterlogging, and farmland waterlogging.


Small and medium-sized rivers in the southern and western areas were flooded from earlier rains and could remain so, it said.


The Yalu River straddling Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia may rise above warning levels by Friday night, state media reported.


Other parts of northeast China, including Inner Mongolia, parts of Jilin province, and central and eastern areas of Liaoning province will see heavy rainfall, China's national forecaster said.