Northern China flash flood kills 8
The banks of a river running through the grasslands of Inner Mongolia burst at around 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Saturday, the report said, washing away 13 campers on the outskirts of Bayannur city, a major agricultural hub. One person has been rescued.
China has suffered weeks of extreme weather since July, battered by heavier-than-usual downpours with the monsoon stalling over its north and south.
Weather experts link the shifting pattern to climate change, testing officials as flash floods displace thousands and threaten billions of dollars in economic losses.
Bayannur is an important national grain and oil production base, as well as a sheep breeding and processing center.
At the other end of the country, a three-and-a-half-month fishing suspension in the southern province of Hainan ended on Saturday, state media reported, after agricultural affairs officials ordered ships to shelter in port owing to persistent, heavy rain.
The deluge in Inner Mongolia follows a deadly downpour in Beijing – just under 1,000km away – late last month which killed at least 44 people and forced the evacuation of more than 70,000 residents.
The central government announced last week 430 million yuan ($59.9 million) in fresh funding for disaster relief, taking the total allocated since April to at least 5.8 billion yuan.
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Pakistan approves $20.8 million flood aid as nearly 400 dead in latest monsoon spell
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's top economic body on Tuesday approved a relief package worth Rs5.8 billion ($20.8 million) to support people affected by recent rains and flash floods in the country's northwest, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. The announcement comes as nearly 400 people have been killed during the latest spell of monsoon rains in northern Pakistan that began late last week. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported that of the 400 deaths since Friday, 356 were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which has been lashed by cloudbursts, flash floods, lightning strikes and landslides in the deadliest downpour of this year's monsoon season. In total, 707 Pakistanis have died in monsoon rains since June 26, according to the NDMA. 'Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has approved a relief package worth 5.8 billion rupees as federal assistance for the rain and flood affected people,' Radio Pakistan said in a report after a meeting of the ECC was held in Islamabad with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in the chair. 'The ECC directed the Finance Division to immediately release 4 billion rupees of the approved package to mitigate the sufferings of affected people.' Earlier in the day, while addressing a joint news conference on Tuesday, Pakistan's army and government spokesmen and the chief of the NDMA said coordinated relief and rescue operations had been stepped up in affected parts of KP and the mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region. 'Currently, there are eight units of the infantry and eight units of the FC [frontier constabulary] directly involved in search and rescue and flood relief operations,' Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, told reporters in Islamabad. 'In the search and rescue work, 6,903 of children and adults have been rescued by the army units,' the army spokesman said, adding that over 6,300 people had also received medical treatment. Chaudhry said logistics bases had been set up in Kanju and Daggar to supply food, tents and medicines, while helicopters were flying emergency aid to remote areas. Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said 70 percent of the region's power supply had also been restored, including in districts like Buner, Shangla, Swat and Bajaur, where electrical grids, poles and transformers were destroyed. He said ministers for energy, communications and Kashmir affairs were deployed in the field to monitor relief operations. 'In Malakand division, the N-90 highway has been fully reopened after clearing all blockades,' Tarar added. More than 1,200 tents, 3,000 kilograms of medicines and 40 tons of food rations have been dispatched to the flood-hit regions, with over 500 medical camps operational in the area. Chairman of the NDMA, Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik, who also addressed the news conference, said at least 25,000 people had been rescued in total in the last four days. He warned of continued risks from localized flooding and cloudbursts in KP, GB, and northern Punjab, with a new monsoon spell expected in the last week of August. 'A complete survey has been launched, which has been started to assess the damage of houses and public infrastructure,' Malik said, adding that its findings would be ready by early September. Malik said more than 50 percent of landslides had been cleared and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had approved a special ration package for affected districts. Aid convoys to Swabi, Buner, Malakand, Bajaur, Shangla and Swat were also underway, with support from military formations and non-governmental organizations 'All arms of the state are mobilized in this national response,' he added. TRAVEL ADVISORY Separately, the NDMA issued a travel advisory on Tuesday warning of road closures and damage in the country's north due to floods and landslides. According to the advisory, tourists have been told to avoid travel on vulnerable stretches of the Karakoram Highway and connecting routes, including Torghar, Batagram, Shangla, Lower Kohistan, Tattapani, Gilgit and Hunza. Road blockages due to floods and landslides were reported at several points on the Karakoram Highway, as well as at multiple locations along the Mingora–Swat road. The NDMA also listed a number of damaged or closed bridges and roads in Gilgit-Baltistan, Skardu, Ghizer, Hunza and Astore. 'Surmo Bridge, Ghanche: damaged; no alternate … Baghecha, Skardu: damaged; alternate: temporary causeway but unsafe,' the advisory said. It added that the Astak Bridge on the Jaglot–Skardu road was partially open, while major routes such as Shandur, Ishkoman, Gulmit in Gojal, Hoper in Nagar, and the Skardu–Kargil road in Kharmang district were closed with no alternate routes available. The advisory urged travelers to check updates regularly and avoid unnecessary movement in the affected areas until roads are cleared and safe for traffic. PUNJAB ALERT The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Tuesday also issued a fresh alert for heavy monsoon rains across much of the province from Aug. 19–22. 'Severe thunderstorms are forecast in most districts, including Rawalpindi, Murree, Galiyat, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Lahore, Gujrat and Sialkot,' the PDMA spokesperson said, adding that downpours were also expected in Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and Rajanpur. PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said all commissioners and deputy commissioners had been directed to remain on alert in line with instructions from Punjab's chief minister. He warned of rising water levels in rivers and streams, flash flooding in hill torrents, and the risk of urban flooding in major cities. 'Citizens are urged to adopt precautionary measures during bad weather,' Kathia said. 'Stay in safe places during storms, avoid unnecessary travel, and keep children away from low-lying areas and electricity poles and wires.' The DG added that health, irrigation, communications, local government and livestock departments had all been placed on high alert. In case of emergency, people were advised to call the PDMA helpline at 1129.
Arab News
7 hours ago
- Arab News
Why cloudbursts have killed hundreds in Pakistan and India this monsoon season
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Massive, sudden downpours of rain known as cloudbursts have struck Pakistan and India during this monsoon season, killing hundreds of people in the flash floods and landslides they have triggered. WHAT ARE CLOUDBURSTS AND WHY DO THEY OCCUR? By a widely accepted definition, a cloudburst means more than 100 mm (4 inches) of rainfall in one hour, over a small area. This year, the monsoon, which originates in the Bay of Bengal and then sweeps westwards across northern India to Pakistan every summer, has brought deadly cloudbursts. Weather studies say cloudbursts typically occur in South Asia when warm, monsoon winds, laden with moisture, meet the cold mountain air in the north of India and Pakistan, causing condensation. With a warming planet, the monsoon has hotter air, which can carry more moisture. India's weather department data shows cloudbursts are most common in the Himalayan regions of Indian Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Fahad Saeed, a senior climate scientist at Berlin-based Climate Analytics, said that in the mountains of northern Pakistan, the warm monsoon system coming from the east was meeting colder air coming from the west, from the subtropical jet stream - a high-altitude weather system that originates in the Mediterranean. Global warming is pushing this jet stream further south in summer, he said, where it can now combine with the lower-level clouds of the monsoon in Pakistan, forming a tower of clouds which then generatesg intense rain. Similar intense rainfall, though triggered by different local factors, takes place around the world, such as the floods in Texas in July, when more than 300 mm of rain fell in less than an hour, sending a wall of water down the Guadalupe River. WHY IS THE REGION BEING HIT SO BADLY BY CLOUDBURSTS? This monsoon season has so far seen at least four major deadly cloudbursts, including in Uttarakhand, India, where video captured the moment when village buildings were swept down a mountain, and in Buner, in the Hindu Kush mountain range in Pakistan, where more than 200 people died after at least 150 mm of rain fell within an hour. S D Sanap, a scientist with the India Meteorological Department's Pune office, said such cloudburst events were becoming more frequent in the western Himalayas, which run across India and into Pakistan, but pinning the rise on a single cause was not easy. The cloudburst events on both sides of the border were triggered the same way: very moist monsoon air, upslope winds, and storms that stalled over valleys, said Moetasim Ashfaq, a weather expert based in the U.S. If a cloudburst happens over flat land, the rainfall spreads over a wide area, so the impact is less severe, said Pradeep Dangol, a senior hydrology research associate at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, based in Nepal. But in steep mountain valleys, the rain is concentrated into narrow streams and slopes, with the potential to trigger flash floods and landslides, he said. CAN CLOUDBURSTS BE PREDICTED? Forecasting such events days in advance is nearly impossible, though radars can track the build-up of dense cloud formations and give short-term warnings of intense downpours, Sanap said. To strengthen monitoring, the India Meteorological Department has installed new radars across the Himalayas and set up observatories aimed at improving early warnings and understanding of these extreme weather events. Syed Muhammad Tayyab Shah, who leads risk assessment at Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, part of the government, said that it was possible to warn about the general area but not possible to pinpoint the exact location in advance where a cloudburst will happen.
Arab News
7 hours ago
- Arab News
Nearly 400 killed, over 6,900 rescued in latest spell of monsoon rains in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Nearly 400 people have been killed and over 6,900 rescued during the latest spell of monsoon rains in northern Pakistan that began late last week, officials said on Tuesday, as the government launched a nationwide survey to assess damage to homes and infrastructure. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said of the 400 deaths since Friday, 356 were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) alone, a mountainous northwest province hit by cloud bursts, flash floods, lightning strikes and landslides in the deadliest downpour of this year's monsoon season. In total, 670 Pakistanis have perished in this year's monsoon season that began on June 26. Addressing a joint news conference on Tuesday, Pakistan's army and government spokesmen and the chief of the NDMA said coordinated relief and rescue operations had been stepped up in affected parts of KP and the mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region. 'Currently, there are eight units of the infantry and eight units of the FC [frontier constabulary] directly involved in search and rescue and flood relief operations,' Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, told reporters in Islamabad. 'In the search and rescue work, 6,903 of children and adults have been rescued by the army units,' the army spokesman said, adding that over 6,300 people had also received medical treatment. Chaudhry said logistics bases had been set up in Kanju and Daggar to supply food, tents and medicines, while helicopters were flying emergency aid to remote areas. Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said 70 percent of the region's power supply had also been restored, including in districts like Buner, Shangla, Swat and Bajaur, where electrical grids, poles and transformers were destroyed. He said ministers for energy, communications and Kashmir affairs were deployed in the field to monitor relief operations. 'In Malakand division, the N-90 highway has been fully reopened after clearing all blockades,' Tarar added. More than 1,200 tents, 3,000 kilograms of medicines and 40 tones of food rations have been dispatched to the flood-hit regions, with over 500 medical camps operational in the area. Chairman of the NDMA, Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik, who also addressed the news conference, confirmed that the death toll from this year's monsoon stood at around 670 while at least 25,000 people had been rescued in total in the last four days. He warned of continued risks from localized flooding and cloudbursts in KP, GB, and northern Punjab, with a new monsoon spell expected in the last week of August. 'A complete survey has been launched, which has been started to assess the damage of houses and public infrastructure,' Malik said, adding that its findings would be ready by early September. Malik said more than 50 percent of landslides had been cleared and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had approved a special ration package for affected districts. Aid convoys to Swabi, Buner, Malakand, Bajaur, Shangla and Swat were also underway, with support from military formations and non-governmental organizations. 'All arms of the state are mobilized in this national response,' he added. TRAVEL ADVISORY Separately, the NDMA issued a travel advisory on Tuesday warning of road closures and damage in the country's north due to floods and landslides. According to the advisory, tourists have been told to avoid travel on vulnerable stretches of the Karakoram Highway and connecting routes, including Torghar, Batagram, Shangla, Lower Kohistan, Tattapani, Gilgit and Hunza. Road blockages due to floods and landslides were reported at several points on the Karakoram Highway, as well as at multiple locations along the Mingora–Swat road. The NDMA also listed a number of damaged or closed bridges and roads in Gilgit-Baltistan, Skardu, Ghizer, Hunza and Astore. 'Surmo Bridge, Ghanche: damaged; no alternate … Baghecha, Skardu: damaged; alternate: temporary causeway but unsafe,' the advisory said. It added that the Astak Bridge on the Jaglot–Skardu road was partially open, while major routes such as Shandur, Ishkoman, Gulmit in Gojal, Hoper in Nagar, and the Skardu–Kargil road in Kharmang district were closed with no alternate routes available. The advisory urged travelers to check updates regularly and avoid unnecessary movement in the affected areas until roads are cleared and safe for traffic. PUNJAB ALERT The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Tuesday also issued a fresh alert for heavy monsoon rains across much of the province from Aug. 19–22. 'Severe thunderstorms are forecast in most districts, including Rawalpindi, Murree, Galiyat, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Lahore, Gujrat and Sialkot,' the PDMA spokesperson said, adding that downpours were also expected in Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and Rajanpur. PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said all commissioners and deputy commissioners had been directed to remain on alert in line with instructions from Punjab's chief minister. He warned of rising water levels in rivers and streams, flash flooding in hill torrents, and the risk of urban flooding in major cities. 'Citizens are urged to adopt precautionary measures during bad weather,' Kathia said. 'Stay in safe places during storms, avoid unnecessary travel, and keep children away from low-lying areas and electricity poles and wires.' The DG added that health, irrigation, communications, local government and livestock departments had all been placed on high alert. In case of emergency, people were advised to call the PDMA helpline at 1129.
