Heavy rains in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality swelled the Meijiang River above flood warning levels on Sunday, flooding low-lying areas and forcing emergency crews to evacuate residents.
The downpour triggered the river's second flood of the year in Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, where water levels peaked at 342.4 meters, 0.93 meters above the warning mark, flooding riverside homes before authorities went door to door to assist evacuations.
As of Monday morning, the river had receded to 338.48 meters, nearly three meters below the warning level, easing immediate risks.
Meteorological officials, however, urged residents to avoid non-essential outings and warned departments to stay alert for secondary disasters such as flash floods and landslides.
Heavy downpours trigger floods in Chongqing, residents evacuated
Chinese marine engineers have kept a close eye on the conditions of coral reefs in the South China Sea by conducting regular surveys to protect marine ecosystems.
The survey team at the Sansha Marine Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources have recently carried out a survey in the waters 14 kilometers away from the Yongxing Island of the Xisha Islands.
Although the forecast indicated fine sea conditions, the team was still troubled by rain at sea -- a common situation for marine operations.
Minutes later, the rainfall stopped, and the engineers had to catch the opportune time to carry out their tasks.
"Today, the first task is to conduct a coral reef survey, and the second is to do some maintenance on a set of underwater equipment," said Zhang Yuanzhou, a marine engineer.
Despite multiple difficulties caused by rain, the team members dived into the waters to take photos of coral reefs and maintain the equipment.
During underwater operations, the engineers should be cautious about reefs and guard against possible attacks from poisonous marine creatures and undercurrents. In such circumstances, they need to cooperate with their colleagues on board to ensure safety.
At last, the team completed the tasks smoothly, saying that every time they dive, the scenery in the waters will be different.
"There were many tasks so we had to swim quickly. It took a lot of oxygen to swim back and forth. Otherwise, we even didn't want to return," Zhang said.
The engineers' efforts in coral reef protection have paid off as China's five key coral clusters have registered recovery, according to a bulletin on China's marine ecological early warning and monitoring in 2025.
Coral reef ecosystems, hailed as the "tropical rainforest of the ocean," play a significant role in maintaining marine ecological balance and biodiversity.
Chinese marine engineers closely monitor conditions of coral reefs in South China Sea
