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Globe and Mail
06-08-2025
- Climate
- Globe and Mail
Monsoon in southern China unleashes landslides, threatens to worsen chikungunya outbreak
Rescue crews raced on Wednesday to clear debris and flooded roads as southern China braced for more extreme rainfall and spreading infection after some of the worst downpours this century, brought by a peak in East Asian monsoon rains. Forecasters warned of more thunderstorms after the century's second-heaviest August rains pounded Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, forcing its Baiyun airport, one of the world's busiest, to cancel 363 flights and delay 311. The day before, the skies above Hong Kong and the high-tech cities of China's Pearl River Delta turned livid and dumped the heaviest August rainfall since 1884 on the Asian financial hub. Destructive floods expose climate risks to infrastructure in South Asia Rescue teams in Guangdong scrambled to open drains and pump water away from urban areas, state media said, as the intense rain set off mudslides and felled trees on highways, ripping up roads to expose cabling and other infrastructure. Video images showed roads transformed into brown waterways, threatening to worsen a major outbreak of chikungunya, fuelled by mosquitoes thriving in stagnant flood water, which had been on a downtrend before the latest rains. Guangdong had reported more than 7,000 of the virus infections earlier. China has suffered weeks of atmospheric chaos since July, battered by heavier-than-usual downpours with the East Asian 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. On Tuesday, Beijing allocated more than 1-billion yuan ($192-million) in disaster relief for Guangdong and the northern province of Hebei, as well as the capital, Beijing, and the northern region of Inner Mongolia, state news agency Xinhua said, including subsidies for damage to grain-growing areas. 'The rains will drive up prices for fresh fruits and vegetables,' said Dan Wang, a China expert at Eurasia Group. While some farmers might be able to exploit the situation to their benefit, agricultural losses would hit incomes as a whole, she added. Cold-chain storage providers could benefit, she said, while higher prices could sustain consumer prices, after the latest data showed the first rise in five months. Even e-commerce may not be immune, as a landslide north of Guangzhou early on Wednesday hit 'Taobao Village', a community where many households run shops on China's Alibaba platform, trapping 14 people, with half the number still missing. Across the province, 16 rivers threaten to breach their banks, with water levels at two sites reaching their highest since 2017 and 2018. But the worst may be yet to come, with two to three typhoons expected to strike in August, emergency management authorities said on Tuesday. Heavy rains, flooding kill at least 34 people in and near Beijing The city of Foshan west of Guangzhou has been the epicentre of the province's chikungunya outbreak, while at least a dozen more have reported infections, which typically cause fever and severe joint pain, though deaths are rare. The next few weeks are especially daunting for disease prevention and control, say provincial authorities, after the flood season, worsened by typhoons and heavy rain, boosted mosquito activity. Spread by the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes, global infections of the disease number at least 240,000 this year. But the disease and rainfall will have an uneven economic impact on China, thanks to their localized nature, said Chim Lee, a senior analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. 'In harder-hit areas like Guangdong, outdoor activity is discouraged, and many brick-and-mortar, consumer-facing businesses are seeing a drop in footfall,' he added. 'Industrial and commercial operations are also feeling the strain.'
CNA
06-08-2025
- Climate
- CNA
Monsoon peaks in south China, unleashing landslides, disease
BEIJING: Rescue crews raced on Wednesday (Jul 6) to clear debris and flooded roads as southern China braced for more extreme rainfall and spreading infection after some of the worst downpours this century, as East Asian monsoon rains peak. Forecasters warned of more thunderstorms after the century's second-heaviest August rains pounded Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, forcing its Baiyun airport, one of the world's busiest, to cancel 363 flights and delay 311. The day before, the skies above Hong Kong and the high-tech cities of China's Pearl River Delta turned livid and dumped the heaviest August rainfall since 1884 on the Asian financial centre. Rescue crews in Guangdong scrambled to open drains and pump water away from urban areas, state media said, as the intense rain set off mudslides and felled trees on highways, tearing away road surfaces to expose cabling and other infrastructure. Video images showed roads transformed into brown waterways, threatening to worsen a major outbreak of Chikungunya, fuelled by mosquitoes thriving in stagnant flood water, which had been on a downtrend before the latest rains. Guangdong had reported more than 7,000 of the virus infections earlier. China has suffered weeks of atmospheric chaos since July as it is battered by downpours heavier than usual batter with the East Asian 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. On Tuesday, Beijing allocated more than 1 billion yuan (US$139 million) in disaster relief for Guangdong and the northern province of Hebei, as well as the capital, Beijing, and the northern region of Inner Mongolia, state news agency Xinhua said, including subsidies for damage to grain-growing areas. Extreme rainfall swept at least five people to their deaths in Guangdong over the weekend, triggering a large-scale search effort by more than 1,300 rescuers. Sixteen rivers across Guangdong threaten to breach their banks, with water levels at two sites reaching their highest since 2017 and 2018. The worst may be yet to come, with two to three typhoons expected to strike in August, emergency management authorities said on Tuesday. DISEASE OUTBREAK The city of Foshan west of Guangzhou has been the epicentre of the province's Chikungunya outbreak, while at least a dozen more have reported infections, which typically cause fever and severe joint pain, though deaths are rare. The next few weeks are especially daunting for disease prevention and control, say provincial authorities, after the flood season, worsened by typhoons and heavy rain, boosted mosquito activity. Spread by the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes, global infections of the disease number at least 240,000 this year.
Al Arabiya
06-08-2025
- Climate
- Al Arabiya
Monsoon peaks in south China, unleashing landslides and disease
Rescue crews raced on Wednesday to clear debris and flooded roads as southern China braced for more extreme rainfall and the spread of infection after some of the worst downpours this century, as East Asian monsoon rains peaked. Forecasters warned of more thunderstorms after the second-heaviest August rains this century pounded Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, forcing Baiyun airport—one of the world's busiest—to cancel 363 flights and delay 311. The day before, skies above Hong Kong and the high-tech cities of China's Pearl River Delta turned livid and dumped the heaviest August rainfall since 1884 on the Asian financial center. Rescue crews in Guangdong scrambled to open drains and pump water away from urban areas, state media said, as the intense rain set off mudslides and felled trees on highways, tearing away road surfaces to expose cabling and other infrastructure. Video images showed roads transformed into brown waterways, threatening to worsen a major outbreak of Chikungunya, fueled by mosquitoes thriving in stagnant flood water. The outbreak had been on a downtrend before the latest rains. Guangdong had reported more than 7,000 virus infections earlier. China has endured weeks of atmospheric chaos since July, battered by downpours heavier than usual as the East Asian monsoon stalled over both the 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. On Tuesday, Beijing allocated more than 1 billion yuan (USD 139 million) in disaster relief for Guangdong, the northern province of Hebei, the capital Beijing, and the northern region of Inner Mongolia, according to state news agency Xinhua. The aid includes subsidies for damage to grain-growing areas. Extreme rainfall swept at least five people to their deaths in Guangdong over the weekend, triggering a large-scale search effort by more than 1,300 rescuers. Sixteen rivers across Guangdong are threatening to breach their banks, with water levels at two sites reaching their highest since 2017 and 2018. The worst may be yet to come, with two to three typhoons expected to strike in August, emergency management authorities warned Tuesday. Disease outbreak The city of Foshan, west of Guangzhou, has been the epicenter of the province's Chikungunya outbreak, while at least a dozen other locations have reported infections. The disease typically causes fever and severe joint pain, though deaths are rare. The next few weeks are especially daunting for disease prevention and control, say provincial authorities, as the flood season—worsened by typhoons and heavy rain—has boosted mosquito activity. Spread by the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes, global infections of the disease number at least 240,000 this year.
Reuters
06-08-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
Monsoon peaks in south China, unleashing landslides, disease
BEIJING, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Rescue crews raced on Wednesday to clear debris and flooded roads as southern China braced for more extreme rainfall and spreading infection after some of the worst downpours this century, as East Asian monsoon rains peak. Forecasters warned of more thunderstorms after the century's second-heaviest August rains pounded Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, forcing its Baiyun airport, one of the world's busiest, to cancel 363 flights and delay 311. The day before, the skies above Hong Kong and the high-tech cities of China's Pearl River Delta turned livid and dumped the heaviest August rainfall since 1884 on the Asian financial centre. Rescue crews in Guangdong scrambled to open drains and pump water away from urban areas, state media said, as the intense rain set off mudslides and felled trees on highways, tearing away road surfaces to expose cabling and other infrastructure. Video images showed roads transformed into brown waterways, threatening to worsen a major outbreak of Chikungunya, fuelled by mosquitoes thriving in stagnant flood water, which had been on a downtrend before the latest rains. Guangdong had reported more than 7,000 of the virus infections earlier. China has suffered weeks of atmospheric chaos since July as it is battered by downpours heavier than usual batter with the East Asian 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. On Tuesday, Beijing allocated more than 1 billion yuan ($139 million) in disaster relief for Guangdong and the northern province of Hebei, as well as the capital, Beijing, and the northern region of Inner Mongolia, state news agency Xinhua said, including subsidies for damage to grain-growing areas. Extreme rainfall swept at least five people to their deaths in Guangdong over the weekend, triggering a large-scale search effort by more than 1,300 rescuers. Sixteen rivers across Guangdong threaten to breach their banks, with water levels at two sites reaching their highest since 2017 and 2018. The worst may be yet to come, with two to three typhoons expected to strike in August, emergency management authorities said on Tuesday. The city of Foshan west of Guangzhou has been the epicentre of the province's Chikungunya outbreak, while at least a dozen more have reported infections, which typically cause fever and severe joint pain, though deaths are rare. The next few weeks are especially daunting for disease prevention and control, say provincial authorities, after the flood season, worsened by typhoons and heavy rain, boosted mosquito activity. Spread by the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes, global infections of the disease number at least 240,000 this year. In a travel notice, opens new tab for Guangdong, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged "enhanced" precautions by visitors. ($1=7.1834 yuan)
Reuters
06-08-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
Monsoon peaks in south China, unleashing landslides and a surge in virus cases
BEIJING, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Rescue crews across south China braced for a final onslaught of extreme rainfall on Wednesday, racing between heavy downpours to clear mudslide debris and drain waterlogged roads submerging cars, as the East Asian monsoon reaches a peak. Forecasters warned of more thunderstorms, a day after the skies above Hong Kong and the high-tech cities of China's Pearl River Delta turned black and unleashed the heaviest August rainfall since 1884 on the Asian financial centre. Videos showed shopping streets transformed into waterways in China's southern province of Guangdong, worsening an outbreak of chikungunya fuelled by a surge of mosquitoes thriving in the stagnant floodwaters. Guangdong has reported more than 7,000 cases of the virus so far. China is being battered by heavier-than-usual downpours as the East Asian monsoon stalls over its north and south, causing weeks of atmospheric chaos since early July. Meteorologists link the shifting pattern to climate change, testing officials as flash floods displace thousands and threaten billions of dollars in economic losses. Beijing allocated over 1 billion yuan ($139.21 million) in disaster relief on Tuesday to support flood relief efforts in the provinces of Guangdong and Hebei, as well as in Beijing and the northern region of Inner Mongolia, state news agency Xinhua reported, including subsidies for damage to grain-growing areas. The extreme rainfall is expected to ease in the coming days, after sweeping at least five people to their deaths in Guangdong over the weekend and prompting a large-scale search operation involving over 1,300 rescuers. Rescue crews on Tuesday rushed to open drains and pump water from urban areas between the showers, state media reported, with the deluge triggering mudslides that brought silt and felled trees onto highways, washing away road foundations and exposing cabling and other embedded infrastructure. But the rains are pushing Guangdong province's flood preparedness to the brink. Sixteen rivers across the province have risen to levels that risk breaching their banks, according to Chinese state media, with water levels at two regional hydrology stations reaching their highest marks since 2017 and 2018. Even as the East Asian monsoon begins to wane, China's weather authorities warn the worst may not be over, with two to three typhoons expected to strike in August, officials from the Ministry of Emergency Management said on Tuesday. ($1 = 7.1834 yuan)
