2021 Jialing River No. 1 Flood Passes Downtown Chongqing

Chongqing — In the early morning of July 12 and 13, the 2021 Jialing River No. 1 Flood peaks successively passed through downtown Chongqing.

In the early morning of July 13, staff was patrolling the river to check the water level in Ciqikou Ancient Town, Shapingba District. (Photo from Visual Chongqing Long Fan)

Jialing River is a tributary of the Yangtze River, the longest river in China. It flows south and east into far western Shaanxi Province, cuts through the Daba Mountains, and flows southward, in an extremely braided course, into the Sichuan Basin, joining the Yangtze at Chongqing after a course of about 740 miles (1,190 km). 

Due to the upper reaches of the Jialing River flows through Sichuan Province, Sichuan can provide early warning of floods in the Jialing River for Chongqing. So, as early as before the formation of the Jialing River No. 1 flood, the water resources department of Sichuan and Chongqing had already conducted many remote consultations. Sichuan has notified Chongqing of the rainfall in the upper reaches of the Jialing River and the scheduling of water conservancy projects in advance. Besides, they also made rolling forecasts of the transit time and the highest water level of the flood peaks at important sites along the Jialing River.

The 2021 Jialing River No.1 flood flows through Jiangbeizui CBD in downtown Chongqing. (Photo from Shangyou News)

Before the flood peak crosses the city, the two cities worked together through multiple remote consultations and timely water situation notifications. The Chongqing Municipal Water Resources Bureau initiated a Level IV flood defense emergency response in advance.

The Jialing River No. 1 flood passes through Hechuan District, Beibei District, Shapingba District, and other districts in Chongqing. The people in these areas were transferred in advance, and emergency rescue teams and materials were promptly mobilized to deal with the situation.

"It was a transit flood caused by the rising of the Qujiang River. It is fast coming and going," said a competent official from the Chongqing water authority.

Under the joint cooperation of Sichuan and Chongqing, the Chongqing water authority initiated a flood defense level IV emergency response at 11 o'clock on July 11 through a discussion and consultation, which bought time for the transfer of personnel and property in the districts and counties along the river.

At present, three working groups sent by the Chongqing Municipal Water Resources Bureau are working with the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission working groups to guide the districts and counties along the river, to provide technical support for flood control.