Typhoon Gaemi swept through central China's Hunan Province on Saturday, bringing record-high precipitation to the county-level city of Zixing.
Two meteorological stations in Zixing recorded 487.5 mm of rainfall in 12 hours on Saturday morning and 670 mm in 24 hours from Friday night to Saturday night, respectively, setting new records for the highest rainfall in the province.
To ensure the safety of the dam and protect the lives and property of people, Zixing's Dongjiang Reservoir released floodwater at a high rate of 2,500 cubic meters per second on Saturday.
12 towns in Chenzhou, a prefecture-level city above Zixing, were without telecommunications and 16 without electricity.
Villagers in Chenzhou were trapped in their houses, and some were swept away by the flooding river, but fortunately, all were rescued.
On Sunday, the provincial capital, Changsha, issued a red alert for heavy rainfall, the highest level in China's four-tier rain warning system. It also raised the flood response from level IV to level III.
Severe road flooding in several areas of Changsha has been significantly disrupting transportation.
Typhoon Gaemi brings record-high rainfall to Hunan
