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Kunming floods overnight

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Unless you were planning to stay in bed all day today, you may have experienced disruption of your planned activities for today because of severe flooding. After a night of heavy rainfall, roads, tunnels, intersections, parking garages and communities have been submerged in up to half a meter of water.

Kunming flooding is an annual occurrence since times immemorial — or at least since the Han dynasty. In 2013, the Kunming city government has conducted extensive research into best and worst sewer practices, but the systems in place in Yunnan province today are not equipped to cope with the new extremes — be it extreme drought or extreme rainfall.

Here you can find up to date info on which roads, tunnels and intersections that are experiencing disrupted traffic due to the floods.

Motor vehicles are advised to not attempt to cross flooded sections and follow instructions of traffic police. Likewise, non-motorized vehicles and pedestrians are advised to be careful when crossing flooded road section, to avoid slipping or falling. Expect long queues and waiting times for Didi.

Agricultural University entrance
Agricultural University entrance

The Kunming fire brigade was despatched 24 times to fight floods and for rescue operations. 25 trucks, 24 boats and 175 firefighters have been deployed. So far 73 people who found themselves trapped or in otherwise precarious circumstances have been rescued and evacuated (video in article).

Conclusion — you may want stay in bed or to go back to bed, close the curtains, start bingewatching a new tv series and cross your fingers for better weather tomorrow.

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Comments

One of the occasional disadvantages of owning a ground-floor apartment.

This flood prevention hotline may be useful if you get stuck in the mud so to speak and need assistance:

0871-63130070

Weather forecast seems to point to another night of rain and next morning shower. Hope not, but If the case, those commuting through flood-prone roads tomorrow may want to get updates on road conditions:

Yunnan news portal on Weixin:

mp.weixin.qq.com/s/WPBqN-f7HiO6mqE53zLx-A

Another website that updated Kunming road conditions on a more timely basis. They started reporting at 7:25am this morning:

www.i-km.com.cn/art-164494.html

Thank you for the hotline number. The links were already in the article.

Kunming seems to experience more disruptive and severe flooding than low lying cities such as Bangkok and Jakarta. Could be of course that these cities tend to have very predictable rainfall patterns and while their drainage systems are often clogged with garbage, flooding tends to be short-lived and confined to local areas rather than city wide. Upcountry towns located near rivers are the ones sometimes impacted by more widespread and severe flooding, again almost always during the rainy season. Of course there are also various parts of China, particularly in the central part of the country where flooding is a regular occurrence.

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