Scores killed across China as floods continue

Scores killed across China as floods continue
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) June 25, 2024

The death toll from mountain floods in central China has risen to five, state media reported Tuesday, as the country braces through a summer of extreme weather.

Record rainfall struck hilly Hunan province on Saturday, leading to "severe waterlogging" and sudden deluges, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Citing "relevant authorities", state broadcaster CCTV said Tuesday that a person missing after inundations in Yuanling county had been found dead, bringing the number of fatalities to five. The toll had stood at four as of Monday afternoon.

China has been enduring extreme weather conditions in recent months, from torrential rainfall to searing heat waves.

The country is the leading emitter of greenhouse gases, which scientists say drive climate change and make extreme weather events more frequent and intense.

Persistent downpours are forecast across a swath of central, eastern and southern China until Thursday, according to the weather office.

An extreme heat alert was in place in the capital Beijing on Tuesday, with temperatures forecast to exceed 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).

Landslide kills eight in China after heavy rainfall
Beijing (AFP) June 23, 2024 - A landslide in a mountainous area of central China has left eight people dead, state media said Sunday, as parts of the country were placed on high alert for bad weather.

Heavy rain caused a deadly landslide in a village in Hunan province, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Four houses collapsed early on Sunday and all eight missing people "have been found with no vital signs", the channel said.

China has been experiencing extreme weather conditions and unusually high temperatures in recent months.

Climate change driven by human-emitted greenhouse gases makes extreme weather events more frequent and intense, and China is the world's biggest emitter.

Meteorological authorities issued several red alerts -- the highest in China's four-tier warning system -- for torrential rain on Sunday, including in Hubei and Anhui provinces.

Downpours in southern and densely populated Guangdong province sparked inundations and landslides, with at least 38 people killed in China's manufacturing heartland, state media said Friday.

While torrential rains have struck the south, northern China has sweated in temperatures well above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), including in Beijing, where the mercury exceeded 40C (104F) last week.

Death toll in south China flooding jumps to 38: state media
Beijing (AFP) June 21, 2024 - The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in southern China's Guangdong province this week rose sharply to 38 on Friday, state media reported.

China has endured a spate of extreme weather so far this summer, with deluges in the south coming as a heatwave has swept across the north.

Downpours in densely populated Guangdong this week sparked inundations and landslides, with some areas seeing record flooding.

Authorities said on Thursday nine people had been killed around the city of Meizhou but the toll had jumped to 38 by mid-afternoon Friday.

"Due to the severity of the disaster... the search and rescue of trapped people is difficult and time-consuming," state broadcaster CCTV said.

More than 55,000 people were affected by the rains, it said, adding that over 2,200 homes and nearly 4,700 roads had collapsed.

The disaster also damaged hundreds of power facilities and water pipelines as well as nearly 7,000 hectares of crops, according to CCTV.

The broadcaster said direct economic losses as a result of the flooding were estimated at 5.85 billion yuan ($805.7 million).

Footage by CCTV on Friday showed an entire village inundated by muddy water that lapped against broken masonry and roofs with missing tiles.

Trucks lined up along an embankment worked to pipe the floodwater out of the settlement and into a nearby reservoir.

- Summer of extremes -

State media reported this week that some areas had endured "once-a-century flooding... (or) the biggest since historical records began".

The central government has allocated 105 million yuan ($14.5 million) in emergency flood relief for flood-hit areas, state media said Friday.

Aside from Guangdong, the provinces and regions of Guangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou have all been affected.

While torrential rains have struck the south, northern China has sweated in temperatures well above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).

Authorities in several provinces have issued heat warnings since the start of June, urging residents to limit exposure to the sun and to stay hydrated.

Rain showers provided some relief from the heat on Friday in the capital Beijing, where the mercury climbed to 37C (98.6F) last week.

Scientists say climate change makes extreme weather such as heavy rains and heatwaves more frequent and intense.

China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that are a major cause of climate change.

Beijing has pledged to bring emissions of carbon dioxide -- a potent greenhouse gas -- to a peak by 2030 and to net zero by 2060.