Typhoon Baihai triggers extreme flooding and landslides across China

Typhoon Baihai has caused widespread flooding, landslides, and extreme rainfall across several Chinese provinces, including Hubei, Zhejiang, and Fujian. In the Three Gorges Reservoir area, Yichang authorities declared a “wartime state,” implementing school closures, halting construction, and suspending train services to manage risks from saturated soil and potential landslides.

The typhoon has broken numerous meteorological records. In Zhejiang, rainfall reached 215mm, marking the highest typhoon-related rainfall in the province since 1949. Extreme precipitation in Changxing, Zhejiang, recorded 430mm over 12 hours, while areas in Ningbo, Shanghai, and Xiangyang saw cumulative rainfall between 500mm and 800mm.

In the Three Gorges region, previous flooding and landslides on national roads like the G348 have left the terrain unstable, raising concerns that the typhoon’s residual circulation could trigger secondary disasters, including new landslides and flash floods in mountain gullies. Local water management authorities are monitoring numerous small reservoirs and hydropower stations to prevent overflow and manage discharge pressures.