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News: China Flood

Flooding in China

Torrential rains inundated parts of southern and central China affecting more than 15 million people during May and June 2010. China typically encounters flooding during this time of the season but this year conditions are more harsh with persistent areas of thunderstorms dumping large amounts of rain resulting in overflowing rivers and streams.

CloudSat overpassed an intense thunderstorm on June 18, 2010 at 1850 UTC in south central China. The sharp vertical gradient in the CloudSat overpass denotes heavy rain (radar signal attenuates). Similar storms have formed in the area due to a persistent trough of low pressure pumping moist air from the Indian Ocean. From June 15 - 21, 2010 some areas in central China exceeded 600mm (24 inches) for the period.

TRMM rainfall estimates (from NASA)