Authorities in China continue to respond to severe flooding triggered by heavy rainfall across multiple provinces, as the death toll from flash floods in Gansu province rises and preparations are underway for the potential impact of an approaching typhoon.
The National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief reported that fatalities in Weiyuan county, Gansu province, increased from 10 to 25 following flash floods on July 26. At least 23 others were injured in the event. The commission has instructed the provincial government to conduct a thorough investigation and enhance emergency response measures.
Flood warnings remain active across several regions, including the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, where the Ministry of Water Resources activated a level 4 flood response, the lowest tier in a four-level alert system, on Saturday. Multiple rivers in Heilongjiang have surpassed flood thresholds, with the Sandaolezi River—a tributary of the Mudan River—reaching record-high water levels not seen since 1958. Water levels in some rivers exceeded warning thresholds by up to 1.3 meters.
Similar flood alerts are in effect in various provinces spanning northwest to southwest China, including Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, as well as central areas like Henan and Hubei. In response to the widespread flooding, central authorities dispatched 11,000 relief items, comprising blankets and emergency household kits, to Heilongjiang and neighboring Jilin province.
Meteorological forecasts indicate that heavy rainfall will persist throughout much of northern, central, and southwestern China in the coming days. Moderate to heavy precipitation is expected in the northeast through Friday. The recent spate of intense weather events follows the impact of three typhoons in recent weeks, the latest being Typhoon Noul, which made landfall in Guangdong last week. That event prompted the evacuation of nearly 900,000 people and led to flash flood warnings across affected areas.
Officials are now preparing for Typhoon Dolphin, which the Ministry of Water Resources has warned could reach landfall within the next two weeks, adding to concerns over flood-related risks and disaster management.
In response to increasing extreme weather, attributed in part to climate change and current El Niño patterns, China is advancing its use of artificial intelligence in weather forecasting. Researchers have developed an ensemble forecasting system that generates multiple storm track simulations, improving on traditional AI models focused primarily on data pattern recognition. This new model integrates atmospheric dynamics to better identify and explain changes in storm trajectories.
According to scientists, the system has demonstrated forecasting accuracy comparable to the world's leading models in short-term predictions and superior performance for medium- and long-term forecasts. Additionally, the model achieves these results using fewer computational resources by analyzing 31 data sets rather than the usual 51, optimizing both efficiency and accuracy.
These technological advances aim to strengthen early warning capabilities and bolster disaster preparedness amid increasingly volatile weather conditions affecting large parts of China.