Local authorities in several parts of east and central China are mobilizing all resources for emergency flood control and rescue operations as recent heavy rains have battered provinces such as Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, and Hubei.
On Thursday, heavy rainfall occurred in many areas of east China's Jiangxi Province, prompting the province to activate Level-IV emergency response measures.
Many places have managed pre-releases from several reservoirs to make room for expected inflows.
In east China's Anhui Province, Hefei, Lu'an, Wuhu, Xuancheng, Tongling, Chizhou, Anqing, and Huangshan experienced heavy rainfall, with some areas facing severe downpours.
So far, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters have activated the Level IV emergency response for flood control in these eight cities.
Heavy rainfall battered parts of central China's Hunan Province starting the wee hours of Thursday, causing waterlogging and prompting the evacuation of local residents.
Torrential downpours hit Zhangjiajie and Changde cities in Hunan, and extremely heavy rainfall was reported in parts of Cili County of Zhangjiajie and Taoyuan County of Changde, which led to waterlogging.
Heavy rainfall in Shejiaping Town, Taoyuan County, led to waterlogging by early morning on Thursday. Local authorities organized the evacuation of residents in at-risk zones.
As of 5:00 pm on Thursday, over 5,400 people have been transferred, and over 3,500 disaster-affected people have been relocated in Taoyuan County.
On Thursday, in response to heavy rainfall, railway authorities implemented temporary suspensions for nine trains passing through Longshan County in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
After the trains were suspended, Longshan North Station promptly broadcasted the information about the train suspension and delay through station announcements and electronic display screens.
In addition, the station opened additional counters and arranged for staff to guide passengers in processing refunds or ticket changes, aiming to minimize passenger delays to the greatest extent.
"Although my trip was delayed, the service at the station was very thoughtful. Staff here has provided patient service, which makes us passengers feel much more at ease," said Liu Rui, a passenger.
Torrential rains pounded many places in central China's Hubei Province on Thursday. The downpour triggered floods across the provincial capital Wuhan, submerging major roads during the busy afternoon.
"We are implementing the two-shift system, with each shift lasting nearly eight hours, to carry out drainage work," said Chen Zongfu, head of the drainage team at Wuhan's Qiaokou District Water Affairs and Lakes Bureau.
Relief work underway as heavy rain hits several regions across China
The recently signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran has sparked major concern among Israeli officials, who fear that Israel's interests are being abandoned by its most crucial ally, according to analysts.
The development comes as Israel braces for a pivotal election later this year, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu potentially facing severe political fallout from the agreement.
"Israel views the MoU signed with Iran as a complete capitulation where the Americans were desperate to reach a deal because they clearly failed abysmally to plan for the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz. So they feel that all of Israel's interests have been abandoned," said Dan Perry, an American world affairs and political analyst.
Following the signing of the MoU, Iran and the United States held the first round of high-stakes indirect talks, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, at the Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock on Sunday.
On Monday, mediators announced encouraging outcomes from the talks, including a 60-day roadmap toward a final deal, and mechanisms to ensure the security of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a close ally of Iran in Lebanon.
However, there have been concerns that Israel may jeopardize the negotiations.
"No doubt that the Americans, some of the Americans, definitely some of the Americans that are negotiating, like the Vice President JD Vance, think that Israel can put some obstacles and jeopardize the negotiations," said Yaki Dayan, former Israeli consul in Los Angeles.
With Israeli elections looming later this year, Netanyahu's core strategy to get re-elected was to portray the very good relations he holds with U.S. President Donald Trump. However, the MoU and the ensuing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran may dramatically affect the election results.
"Unless something dramatically changes, this is devastating for Netanyahu, not only because he pursued a strategy that has failed - the Iranian regime still stands, the nuclear program still exists, Hamas and Hezbollah are still fighting against Israel, but also because he was long perceived as Mr. America, with his incredible eloquence in American English. He could run circles around any American president to get America to do Israel's bidding," said Perry.
Perry added that instead of maintaining that influence, Netanyahu has brought Israel to an unbelievably low point in its relationship with the United States.
Although Netanyahu did practically everything to persuade the U.S. to withdraw from the previous Iran nuclear deal signed more than a decade ago under President Barack Obama, analysts doubt that he can repeat it again this time because Israel and its prime minister rely entirely on just one side of the American political spectrum.
"When you look at alternatives now, you don't have because Israel has lost the Democratic side as well. So you don't have an alternative in the American politics," said Dayan.
Israel feels its interests "abandoned" in US-Iran deal: analysts
