China hit by flooding and heat wave in the north
TORRENTIAL rains have lashed parts of central and south China, with floods killing at least 33 people yesterday, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes and damaging crops, while the north wilted in a heat wave and drought.
Water levels in more than 60 rivers in southern China had risen above warning levels, the flood control authority said.
Thirty-three people were confirmed dead and 15 missing after heavy rain and flooding engulfed the central and southern provinces, including Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Sichuan and Guizhou, China’s civil affairs ministry said.
The annual rainy season, which arrived in the second half of last month, has hit southern Hunan province the most.
The relentless downpours could start to ease in coming days, forecasters said.
Xiangjiang, a major tributary of the Yangtze river, has exceeded its record flood level in the Hunan capital of Changsha. Floods in the city have swamped houses, uprooted trees, damaged cars and submerged roads.
Across Hunan, the flooding destroyed houses and forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate and also damaged crops – causing a direct economic loss of roughly 8.26 billion yuan (R16-billion), the civil affairs office said.
In Guangxi, 16 people died and 10 were missing after a flood in the southwestern region after a storm, authorities said.
Southern provinces produce some of China’s major crops. Guangxi is China’s top sugarcane-growing region, while Hunan is its third-largest pig farming province. Rice is grown south of the Yangtze. China will take steps to ensure sugar reserves are safe in the rainy season.
China Southern Power reported an extensive blackout in Guangxi. Electricity was being restored yesterday.
By contrast, stifling heat has settled over Beijing, Hebei, Henan and other northern provinces since last week, with temperatures hitting 40°C in areas yesterday, the meteorological bureau said.
Cities in Shaanxi province issued alerts, saying temperatures could exceed 35°C in the coming three days.
In Beijing, many residents stayed indoors at the weekend due to the heat.
In the Inner Mongolia region, firefighters were battling a grassland fire that had spread quickly to northern China from Mongolia, reports said.