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Four people killed, at least a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China

Record-breaking rains cause intense flooding in the south, while the north reels from drought and high temperatures.

Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
People clean debris in the aftermath of flooding after intense storms in Meizhou, in southern China's Guangdong province. [AFP]
Published On 19 Jun 2024

At least four people have died after record rains hit parts of southern China while more than a dozen were missing, even as the north of the country suffered some of its highest temperatures this year.

Downpours “exceeding historical daily maximums” in some areas of Fujian province caused the four deaths, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday, citing the flood control headquarters of Shanghang county.

More than 66,000 people in the county have been affected by the extreme weather, Xinhua said, adding that “communications and electricity infrastructure … has not been fully restored”. The authorities warned of the possibility of more landslides.

In nearby Meizhou, in Guangdong province, landslides on Monday killed five people, with 15 missing and another 13 “trapped”, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday.

CCTV footage showed upturned cars and damaged buildings near Meizhou, with residents in rubber boots picking through muddy, debris-laden streets to salvage their belongings.

Other images showed sections of a highway swept away by landslides and rescue workers in orange lifejackets steering dinghies through the floodwaters to reach trapped villagers.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for emergency workers to “make every effort to respond to disaster situations and do a good job of relief and rescue work to combat flooding and drought”, Xinhua reported.

He instructed the rescuers to “guarantee the security of people’s lives and property, and overall social stability”.

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Flooding has also hit the southern and central provinces of Guangxi and Hunan, as well as the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where Xinhua said four people were missing after a flash flood near the city of Changji.

At the same time, China’s north is wilting under some of the year’s hottest weather.

The mercury was expected to soar to up to 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) in the capital Beijing and the surrounding areas of Tianjin and Hebei on Tuesday, the National Meteorological Centre said.

The authorities have also moved to offer drought prevention and disaster relief in seven provinces across China’s north, east and centre.

China is enduring a summer of extreme weather, which scientists say is made more common by climate change.

Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
Several people have died or are missing in floods or rain-induced mudslides in recent days with the annual flooding season in southern Chinese provinces in full swing. [AFP]
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Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
In the city of Meizhou in Guangdong province, low-rise buildings tilted perilously on subsiding ground next to raging rivers or lay half-submerged as floodwaters burst the banks. [AFP]
Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
More than 1,400 houses have collapsed and 8,000 hectares of crops have been damaged, state media reported. [AFP]
Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
Deaths during China's annual summer floods have fallen sharply from the thousands each year in the 1990s as authorities beefed up flood control measures, such as dam construction. [AFP]
Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
In Shanghang, a county in southeastern Fujian province, four people were killed after rainfall in 15 townships broke records over a 24-hour period. [CNS/AFP]
Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
An aerial view of a car driving past a landslide site after storms in Longyan, in eastern Fujian province. [CNS/AFP]
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Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
A farmer checks on a dry corn field affected by drought in Hudianxiang village in central China. [Jade Gao/AFP]
Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
An aerial view of a dry rice field affected by drought at Hudianxiang village. [Jade Gao/AFP]
Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
A man riding an electric delivery bike with water bottles waits to cross a street on a hot day in the capital, Beijing. [Wang Zhao/AFP]