Heavy ‘dragon boat water’ rain hits south-west China, some cities flooded
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Rain is forecast to continue in southern China over the coming days, the weather bureau reported.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING – Non-stop heavy rain lashed parts of south-west China on Friday, triggering floods in cities, engulfing roads and partially submerging buildings.
A particularly harsh first bout of summer rain known locally as “dragon boat water” saw the city of Beihai in Guangxi region log 453mm on Thursday.
That was a regional daily record for June, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
Cars were half-submerged in Beihai streets. At one multi-storey building, water cascaded down a staircase as firefighters raced to rescue its residents, videos on social media showed.
Ferries from Beihai to nearby Weizhou island will be fully suspended between June 10 and 12, broadcaster CCTV reported, adding that strong winds and heavy rain will hit the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of South China.
The nearby city of Yulin, west of Guangdong province, had 35 hours of rain as at 7am on Friday, CCTV reported.
Villages and towns in the area were inundated by flood waters, the province’s firefighting department reported, adding that over 100 people were evacuated.
Rain is forecast to continue in southern China over the coming days, while the north-east is also expected to be hit by sudden thunderstorms, the weather bureau reported.
China, prone to floods, is increasingly warning of more extreme weather due to climate change.
Guangxi experienced a rare extreme drought in May, with rainfall plunging to 60-year lows.
The central province of Henan, the granary of China, was recently struck by heavy rainfall that caused crops to sprout or be hit by blight,
