Intense rain lashes China, swelling waterways and rivers; landslide kills four
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The storms are part of the broader pattern of extreme weather across China.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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HONG KONG - Swollen rivers, waterways and reservoirs across China worsened flooding and landslides on July 28 that killed at least four people, as the authorities warned of more intense rain and heightened disaster risks in coming days.
Forty-one rivers across the country have flooded, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing China’s Ministry of Water Resources. The ministry said it had issued flood warnings for small and mid-sized rivers and mountain torrents.
Heavy rain intensified around Beijing and surrounding provinces on July 28, including those in central China, such as Hunan, and northern Inner Mongolia.
Four people died in a landslide in northern Hebei and eight people are missing.
In the suburban area of Miyun in Beijing, more than 4,400 people have been resettled after flash floods and landslides floored many villages, CCTV reported.
At an elderly care centre in Miyun, some people were trapped as water levels rose close to the roof, the broadcaster said. Emergency rescue services personnel swam into the building and used ropes to rescue 48 people. Images circulated on China’s WeChat app showed areas of Miyun in which cars and lorries were floating on a flooded road, where water levels had risen so high that part of a residential building was submerged.
Electricity cuts are also affecting more than 10,000 people in the area, CCTV said.
Northern China has seen record precipitation in recent years, exposing densely populated cities, including Beijing, to flood risks.
Some scientists link the increased rainfall in China’s usually arid north to global warming.
China’s Central Meteorological Observatory said that heavy rainfall would continue to drench northern China over the next three days.
Beijing issued its highest-level flood alert on July 28, and its meteorological observatory said rain would intensify after 8pm, particularly in the second half of the night.
Most areas of the city would have more than 150mm of rainfall in six hours, and some areas could reach more than 300mm, it added.
The storms are part of a broader pattern of extreme weather across China
Xiwanzi village in Shicheng town, near Miyun reservoir, was severely affected, CCTV said on July 28, with an additional 100 villagers transferred to a primary school for shelter.
It comes after the maximum flood peak flow into the Miyun reservoir reached a record high of 6,550 cubic m per second, the Beijing authorities said on July 27.
Two high-risk road sections were closed off in Beijing’s Pinggu district, the authorities said.
In neighbouring Shanxi province, videos from state media showed roads inundated by strong gushing currents and submerged vegetation including crops and trees. Shaanxi province, home to China’s historic city of Xi’an, also issued flash flood disaster risk warnings on July 28.
The authorities are carrying out search and rescue work across cities including Datong, where a driver in a Ford car has lost contact while driving in the floods, the People’s Daily reported.
Two people were killed and two were missing
In Hunan’s Liudiequan grand canyon in Chunkou town, water rose so rapidly on July 28 that a tourist was swept away, CCTV said.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on July 28 that it was urgently arranging 50 million yuan (S$8.95 million) to support Hebei.
The funds would be used to repair damaged roads and bridges, water conservancy embankments, schools and hospitals in the disaster area.
The NDRC said it was “promoting the restoration of normal life and production as soon as possible”.
The Chinese authorities closely monitor extreme rainfall and severe flooding, as the waters challenge the country’s ageing flood defences, threaten to displace millions and wreak havoc on China’s US$2.8 trillion (S$3.58 trillion) agricultural sector. REUTERS
