Rivers swelled, houses flooded, cars swept away and at least three people died in torrential rains in southern China, while dozens of people were forced from their homes.
Strong storms and rains have been hitting since Thursday the province of Guangdong, China’s richest and most populous province with its capital Canton (Guangzhou), which is the symbol of Chinese manufacturing power.
Torrential rains have caused rivers to swell to such an extent that they are raising fears of “floods of the century”, local authorities warned yesterday, Sunday.
So far “three people have lost their lives,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing the emergency management agency, adding that the fate of 11 people was still unaccounted for.
More than 53,000 people in the province had to be relocated to other areas, the Chinese news agency also said.
A bridge collapsed due to heavy flooding:
See more
Rescuers were struggling today in various areas of the province to evacuate residents who were trapped in their homes, some carrying elderly people on their backswhile helicopters were deployed to rescue villagers trapped by landslides.
The vast majority had to be removed from Xingyuan, a city located about 60 kilometers from Canton and crossed by the Bei River, a tributary of the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang).
See more
The torrential rains of the last few days also caused landslides in mountainous areas of the province.
Six people were injured and others were trapped near the city of Jiangwan in northern Guangdong, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Footage from it showed houses on river banks destroyed by mud and rescue workers helping people at a sports centre.
According to the Chinese meteorological services, heavy rains accompanied by storms and strong winds are expected today in the metropolis of Shenzhen, north of Hong Kong, which is home to many technology companies.
See more
The weather service warned that Guangdong’s neighboring provinces, especially Fujian (east) and Guizhou (southwest) were also expected to be hit by heavy rains.
Guangdong, which was once described as the “factory of the world”, is prone to summer floods. Its endurance was greatly tested in June 2022, when it faced the heaviest rainfall in sixty years. Hundreds of thousands of people then had to be removed from their homes.
See more
Heavy rainfall in southern China is common, particularly in summer, although this year it started earlier than expected for the annual flood season of May and June.
However, in recent months the country has been facing extreme weather conditions, which have been exacerbated by climate change, according to scientists.
See more
Global warming, caused by human-made greenhouse gas emissions, is making extreme weather events more frequent and more intense, experts say.
