Heavy rain causes peak flows in branches of Yangtze River

Severe flooding occurred in many branches of Yangtze River on Thursday and Friday due to recent downpours, which flooded streets of nearby cities and villages, cut water and power supply and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate. Tongnan District of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality experienced a peak flow of Pujiang River, a branch of Yangtze River, on Thursday afternoon. The maximum water level reached 245 meters, 7.16 meters higher than the warning water level, while the flow reached 17,700 cubic meters per second.