Five dead after heavy rain in eastern China, crops damaged in north-east
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China typically sees heavy rain in late July, but storms have become more intense and unpredictable in recent years.
PHOTO: AFP
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BEIJING - Five people died and two were missing, after heavy rain burst a river bank in a village near eastern China’s Hangzhou city on Saturday, flooding houses and carrying away people and their belongings, state media reported.
Muddy water gushed through streets in a village in Dayuan township, pouring into houses and turning over cars, pictures published by the Beijing Youth Daily showed.
China typically sees heavy rain in late July, but storms have become more intense and unpredictable in recent years.
Torrential rain also submerged parts of China’s north-east on Saturday, damaging dozens of houses and ruining crops in the region known as the nation’s breadbasket.
Almost 5,600 people were evacuated by the authorities in Liaoning province, reported state broadcaster CCTV, after several cities received more than 100mm of rain.
One district of provincial capital Dalian received 93mm of rain in an hour.
Rescue workers were seen wading through water up to their knees with inflatable dinghies, pictures published by CCTV showed.
About 54ha of crops were damaged in the area around Jinzhou and the coastal city of Huludao.
Parts of the north-east had been hit by drought in May and June, but recent rain has alleviated the situation, the agriculture ministry said on Friday. It added that there were still risks to local crops – mainly corn and soya beans – with this year’s El Nino weather pattern likely to bring more extreme weather.
More heavy rain was expected on Sunday across much of the country, with rainstorms and strong wind in parts of the north-east and southern Jiangxi and Fujian provinces. REUTERS
