Tropical Storm Kujira brings more floods to East Asia

The Meiyu-Baiu weather system, a product of the East Asian monsoon, has caused havoc across southern and eastern China in the past few weeks.

Deadly flooding has destroyed thousands of homes and affected millions of people as seasonal rains have deluged rivers and caused landslides.

Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou provinces have been badly affected in the south of the country.

The development of a rain-bearing tropical system was the last thing the region needed but on Saturday Tropical Storm Kujira developed in the South China Sea.

Kujira’s winds caused some problems for shipping with gusts of more than 100km/h, but it was the rain that was always expected to cause the most disruption.

In the 24 hours to 2pm local time (0600GMT) on Wednesday, Dongfang, Hainan reported an incredible 312mm; about a month’s worth of rain.

Now lying in the Gulf of Tonkin, Kujira is expected to head towards Vietnam, making landfall near Hai Phong.

Another 100 to 200mm could fall across the mountainous north, bringing the risk of flash flooding and landslides. It is likely that Yunnan will also see some of the rain from this system. And as many as 30 million people are likely to be affected.

In the next few days the presence of Kujira will help enhance shower activity across southern China with widespread thunderstorms. More flooding is highly likely.