Torrential rain and widespread flooding brought by Typhoon Rumbia has left 13 people dead and at least 3 missing this week in the city of Shouguang, in eastern China. Angry residents say the authorities may have added to the devastation.

Floods have caused 9.2 billion yuan ($1.34 billion) in economic losses in the city, with nearly 10,000 houses collapsed and 200,000 greenhouses damaged, the local government said on Thursday evening.

The city in Shandong province is known as China’s biggest producer of vegetables,  some 4.5 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables are grown there every year. It is also home to the country’s biggest vegetable wholesale market.

While the authorities described the flooding as a natural disaster, residents have accused the local government of contributing to the problem by allowing water to be simultaneously released from three reservoirs in the region. But Zhou Shouzong, director of the Weifang Flood Control and Drought Relief Command Office, defended the move. He claimed it had been necessary to release the water downstream of the Mi River.

“If we hadn’t discharged the water, it would have posed a serious threat to the safety of the reservoirs, and would even have increased the possibility of the dams collapsing,” he said.

Heavy rain –far more than had been forecast– was the main reason the flooding had been so severe, according to the local government.

Scmp.com described how Typhoon Rumbia battered eastern and north-eastern and central China over the weekend, affecting nearly 9.5 million people and leaving at least 22 people dead and seven missing, the National Commission for Disaster Reduction said on Monday. 

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