2 dead, 10 missing after colossal rain in China’s Shandong
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HONG KONG - Heavy rain in China’s eastern province of Shandong killed two people and left 10 people missing after half a year’s worth of rain fell in five hours, drenching the Laiwu district in the city of Jinan, the local government reported on July 22.
The area saw maximum precipitation of 364mm that fell on July 22 from midnight to 5am local time, which is about half of Jinan’s average yearly precipitation of 733mm.
Flash floods occurred near Jinan’s mountainous villages of Shiwuzi and Zhujiayu, washing away or damaging 19 houses.
Rescue operations are under way and all efforts were being deployed to rescue missing people, the authorities said.
The deluge is part of a broader pattern of extreme weather across the country due to the East Asia monsoon which has caused disruptions in the world’s second-largest economy.
Southern regions have also been inundated with heavy rain after Typhoon Wipha pounded Hong Kong on July 20.
Extreme rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change, increasingly pose major challenges as they threaten to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions and wreak havoc on a US$2.8 trillion (S$3.6 trillion) agricultural sector. REUTERS
