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Gathering monsoon challenges China afresh, flash floods hit its struggling economy hard
Extreme rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change, increasingly pose major challenges for policymakers as they threaten to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions, and wreak havoc on China's $2.8 trillion agricultural sector read more
A resident cleans up a street after heavy rainfall led to flooding, in Huaiji county of Zhaoqing, Guangdong province, China. Reuters
Central and southern China were on high alert for more flash floods on Friday as the annual East Asia monsoon gathered pace and extreme rainfall threatened disruption in the world's second-largest economy.
Red alerts, the first for this year, were issued late on Thursday covering the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi region, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the water resources ministry and national weather forecaster.
Extreme rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change, increasingly pose major challenges for policymakers as they threaten to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions, and wreak havoc on China's $2.8 trillion agricultural sector.
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China's rainy season, which arrived earlier than usual this year in early June, is usually followed by intense heat that scorches any crops that survive waterlogged soil, depletes reservoirs, and warps roads and other infrastructure.
Economic losses from natural disasters exceeded $10 billion last July, when the rainfall typically peaks.
Damage was triple that amount in 2020 when China endured one of its longest rainy seasons in decades, lashed by rain for more than 60 days, or about three weeks longer than usual.
On Thursday, heavy rain in southern Hunan triggered the largest floods since 1998 in the upper and lower reaches of the Lishui River after its water levels breached the safety mark by more than two metres.
Videos uploaded to Douyin, as TikTok is known in China, show the river spilling onto main roads and carrying debris downstream.
In the hilly metropolis of southwestern Chongqing, apartment blocks were submerged in muddy waters and some vehicles were swept away as floods gushed down streets, according to state media on Thursday. In some cases, the waters almost reached the top of power lines.
Nearly 300 people were evacuated from towns and villages in a mountainous county in Chongqing, where cumulative daily rainfall had reached 304 mm (12 inches), with at least one local river swelling by 19 metres due to converging precipitation from the mountains, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
On Wednesday, power supply was disrupted in the city of Zhaoqing in southern Guangdong province as flood waters rose more than five metres above warning levels, breaking historical records, local media reported.
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First Post
5 hours ago
- First Post
Gathering monsoon challenges China afresh, flash floods hit its struggling economy hard
Extreme rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change, increasingly pose major challenges for policymakers as they threaten to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions, and wreak havoc on China's $2.8 trillion agricultural sector read more A resident cleans up a street after heavy rainfall led to flooding, in Huaiji county of Zhaoqing, Guangdong province, China. Reuters Central and southern China were on high alert for more flash floods on Friday as the annual East Asia monsoon gathered pace and extreme rainfall threatened disruption in the world's second-largest economy. Red alerts, the first for this year, were issued late on Thursday covering the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi region, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the water resources ministry and national weather forecaster. Extreme rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change, increasingly pose major challenges for policymakers as they threaten to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions, and wreak havoc on China's $2.8 trillion agricultural sector. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD China's rainy season, which arrived earlier than usual this year in early June, is usually followed by intense heat that scorches any crops that survive waterlogged soil, depletes reservoirs, and warps roads and other infrastructure. Economic losses from natural disasters exceeded $10 billion last July, when the rainfall typically peaks. Damage was triple that amount in 2020 when China endured one of its longest rainy seasons in decades, lashed by rain for more than 60 days, or about three weeks longer than usual. On Thursday, heavy rain in southern Hunan triggered the largest floods since 1998 in the upper and lower reaches of the Lishui River after its water levels breached the safety mark by more than two metres. Videos uploaded to Douyin, as TikTok is known in China, show the river spilling onto main roads and carrying debris downstream. In the hilly metropolis of southwestern Chongqing, apartment blocks were submerged in muddy waters and some vehicles were swept away as floods gushed down streets, according to state media on Thursday. In some cases, the waters almost reached the top of power lines. Nearly 300 people were evacuated from towns and villages in a mountainous county in Chongqing, where cumulative daily rainfall had reached 304 mm (12 inches), with at least one local river swelling by 19 metres due to converging precipitation from the mountains, state broadcaster CCTV reported. On Wednesday, power supply was disrupted in the city of Zhaoqing in southern Guangdong province as flood waters rose more than five metres above warning levels, breaking historical records, local media reported. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
China warns of more floods as extreme storms hit world's No.2 economy
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Central and southern China were on high alert for more flash floods on Friday as the annual East Asia monsoon gathered pace and extreme rainfall threatened disruption in the world's second-largest alerts, the first for this year, were issued late on Thursday covering the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi region, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the water resources ministry and national weather rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change, increasingly pose major challenges for policymakers as they threaten to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions, and wreak havoc on China's $2.8 trillion agricultural rainy season, which arrived earlier than usual this year in early June, is usually followed by intense heat that scorches any crops that survive waterlogged soil, depletes reservoirs, and warps roads and other lossesfrom natural disasters exceeded $10 billion last July, when the rainfall typically was triple that amount in 2020 when China endured one of its longest rainy seasons in decades, lashed by rain for more than 60 days, or about three weeks longer than Thursday, heavy rain in southern Hunan triggered the largest floods since 1998 in the upper and lower reaches of the Lishui River after its water levels breached the safety mark by more than two uploaded to Douyin, as TikTok is known in China, show the river spilling onto main roads and carrying debris the hilly metropolis of southwestern Chongqing, apartment blocks were submerged in muddy waters and some vehicles were swept away as floods gushed down streets, according to state media on Thursday. In some cases, the waters almost reached the top of power 300 people were evacuated from towns and villages in a mountainous county in Chongqing, where cumulative daily rainfall had reached 304 mm (12 inches), with at least one local river swelling by 19 metres due to converging precipitation from the mountains, state broadcaster CCTV Wednesday, power supply was disrupted in the city of Zhaoqing in southern Guangdong province as flood waters rose more than five metres above warning levels, breaking historical records, local media reported.
Indian Express
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- Indian Express
River overflows in southern China, stranding people, turning streets into canals Beijing
Rescue workers used rubber dinghies to evacuate people and deliver food and water Wednesday after floodwaters overwhelmed towns in southern China's Guangdong province. About 30,000 people have been evacuated in Huaiji County after days of heavy rain, state broadcaster CCTV said. More than half of the county's roads were submerged, and power and internet outages were widespread. The Suijiang River overflowed in an urban area, turning wide swaths of streets into canals. Aerial footage showed high-rise apartment buildings and leafy green trees sticking up from a sea of mud-coloured water. In some parts, the water reached about halfway up the first floor and left only the tops of cars visible. Huaiji County is near the border with the Guangxi region and about 140 kilometres northwest of Guangzhou, a major industrial and port city that is the provincial capital. Tropical storm Wutip brought heavy rain to the region and was followed by monsoon rains earlier this week. Five people died in Guangxi in two landslides triggered by the tropical storm last weekend. A rescue worker interviewed on a livestream by the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper said his team needed to evacuate seriously ill patients from a hospital. The team had delivered milk powder and water to a woman with a newborn baby and was sending supplies to dozens of children and elderly people who were at a school.
