China activates emergency flood response

The Xinhua news agency said the move came after forecasts of downpours in seven southern Chinese provinces.

Specifically, from May 28 to May 30, heavy rain is expected to be recorded in the provinces of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan and Guizhou, causing river levels to rise. potentially significantly increased and led to a flood warning.

The Chinese Ministry of Water Resources sent a working group to Jiangxi province to guide flood response work. Before that, another working group also arrived in Yunnan province on May 27 because some rivers were raised on emergency alert level IV.

As of May 28, heavy rains in southern China have killed at least 15 people. Of these, according to Xinhua News Agency, the government of Wuping district, Fujian province said eight people were killed in two house collapses caused by local landslides. Heavy rain began to fall on Vu Binh district from the evening of May 26 (local time).

Heavy rain in Nanning City, Guangxi Autonomous Region – China in mid-May Photo: THX

A video posted on social media showed streets covered in mud and some roads partially washed away. At least 39 houses were damaged while more than 1,600 people were evacuated in this locality.

In addition, five people were killed and three were missing in Yunnan province, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV. Also in this province, extreme weather damaged roads, bridges and telecommunications and electricity infrastructure in Khau Bac district.

Page Bloomberg A recent forecast from the National Climate Center of China (NCC) said that flooding in the north and south of the country could be as bad as last summer, when torrential rains killed hundreds of people. die.

More than 27,000 people in 22 counties in the Guangxi Autonomous Region were affected by heavy rains in the middle of this month. In addition, more than 2,300 hectares of crops were damaged, causing about 104 million yuan ($15.5 million) in damage. In Guangdong province, many cities were forced to close schools due to torrential downpours.

According to the NCC, this year’s flooding is expected to be “relatively worse and more severe” than the historical average. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development together with China’s National Development and Reform Commission said in a separate report that cities must stay alert and recognize the growing danger posed by climate change. climate causes extreme weather events.