Shock footage of China floods from above: At least 15 are dead and dozens missing after waters tore through

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

At least 15 people have died after flash floods devastated parts of China over the weekend.
The floods have destroyed homes, broken roads and left dozens of people still missing.
Aerial footage from Yuzhong County in China's northwestern Gansu province shows the extent of the devastation.
Workers have been called in to try and repair towns where the infrastructure has been ruined.
Some of the men were seen slipping in the mud that as they walk through piles of huge stones moved by the huge flow of water.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged all-out rescue and flood prevention efforts.
The villages of Maliantan and Xinyaowanshe were nearly obliterated by the huge power of the water.
One witness likened the floods to 'a train roaring through the mountains' as the sound of crashing boulders came through their village, 24 Brussels reported.
The area of Xinglongshan, popular among hikers and outdoor enthusiasts has also become covered by one metre of mud, cutting off access to walking routes.
Entire communities have reportedly been cut off after more thn 100 kilometres of road became impassible and five bridges were destroyed.
Some 37 villages have also been plunged into darkness after around seven power lines were damaged.
More than 2,500 homes have been damaged or destroyed as a result of the flooding
Rescuers told local media they were working 'around the clock' to support some of the most isolated communities, adding 'every hour counts when lives are at stake'.
Local media also reported that workers manage to rescue a dog which had been trapped under mud for over 30 hours.
Owing to the 'frequent occurrence of extreme weather,' Xi ordered all regions to 'resolutely overcome complacency' while increasing efforts to identify risks.
Heavy rains which have continued since Thursday also caused at least one landslide in mountainous areas near the city of Lanzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Rescuers search through debris for missing people at a village hit by mountain torrents
The downpour knocked out power and telecommunications services in the Xinglong Mountain area, stranding more than 4,000 people across four villages.
Three people were missing after a landslide in the village of Maliantan in Yuzhong County late Thursday.
Maximum rainfall in the area had reached 195 millimeters (7.7 inches) by early Friday, according to Lanzhou local authorities.
Several parts of China are being battered by heavy rains. In the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, seven people died and seven others were injured after a flood-triggered landslide buried homes in the city's northern Baiyun district Wednesday.
In Zhengzhou, the capital of the central Henan province, local authorities shut down schools, offices and factories and closed traffic in parts of the city, which saw catastrophic floods that killed at least 292 people in 2021.
Beijing's top economic planner has allocated 100 million yuan ($14 million) towards disaster relief in Gansu.
Authorities also announced a yellow alert on Saturday for torrential rains and activated a flood response plan in the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and Chongqing, CCTV said.
China's south has also experienced torrential downpours this week, with tens of thousands of people evacuated across Guangdong.
Rescue workers said they were working around the clock to support people affected by the floods
Rescuers search for missing people at a village hit by mountain torrents
Wrokers attempt to build a makeshift bridge over a fast flowing river. Five bridges in the area were destroyed in the deluge
In the last two weeks, heavy rain has caused chaos in northern China, with torrential downpours causing landslides and flooding across the region.
The capital Beijing was hit by floods which killed 44people, after more than 80,000 were evacuated in late July.
The death toll was highest in Miyun, a suburban district northeast of the city centre.
Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat.
China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that scientists say drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense.
But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.