Background floods
China's agriculture hit by floods
China is experiencing one of the worst floods in the past 30 years. 26 provinces in the eastern half of the Asian powerhouse have been hit by the water. The largest part of Chinese agriculture is also located in this region, what is the situation now?
The agricultural sector in China has been hit hard by the floods. As far as we know, about 1,5 million hectares of crops have been destroyed, an economic loss of more than $3 billion. The Chinese government has so far provided $47 million to farmers and producers in the affected southern provinces to rebuild their businesses and offset the losses.
Food prices in China rose by about 11,1% in June compared to the same month last year. In addition to the floods, this is also due to the corona crisis and the African swine fever outbreak. Although the latter seemed somewhat on the decline, the floods are reportedly causing another wave to make its way. This would be because the virus may spread through groundwater. Most pig farms are located in the affected Sichuan province.
The crops hardest hit by the flooding are rice, rapeseed and cotton fields. These crops are some of the most important parts of Chinese agriculture. In addition to these crops, many other crops are also affected by the floods, such as wheat, maize and peanuts. The majority of Chinese agriculture is located in the southeast of the country.
The floods are a major nuisance. Of the 433 rivers in the affected area, at least 33 have reached record highs. At least 31 people are said to have died and more than 23,85 million people have been affected by the flooding in at least 24 provinces. Yet there are also reports that more than 100 people have already died or are missing due to the storm, with more than 35 million people being affected.
The danger has still not passed. Some weather reports say more rain is on the way. Something that is absolutely not desirable for the level of the rivers, but also not for the water level and the condition of various dams. Other important buildings and bridges are also affected by the water.
Affected areas
The most mentioned provinces where they are faced with enormous flooding are Jiangxi, Hubei, Anhui, Sichuan, Guangxi and Hunan. In Jiangxi, just before the weekend (July 24), the warning level was moved from the highest, to the second-highest level. The day before, another dam broke in Anhui province. Geographically, the agreement is that each affected province is located in the (south) eastern part of China. Most provinces connect to each other, but knowing how large China is in terms of area, it is striking how the floods are spreading. For example, Sichuan is much more central than, for example, the coastal provinces of Guangxi, it has fewer lakes and other large waterways, but a lot of nuisance.
The heavy rainfall of the past few months is an annual phenomenon. The rainy season in China lasts from June to August. Still, it doesn't cause problems on the same scale as this year every year. Hundreds of people are killed every year due to floods and landslides due to the amounts of water that come out of the air in buckets during these periods.
Jorine Cosse
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