Flash floods hit southern China

Around 150,000 people have been affected by severe storms that swept across southern China this weekend. Flash flooding was reported across 158 villages in 12 townships in the city of Wanning, which is located in China’s southernmost island province of Hainan.

More than 7,000 soldiers were drafted in to help fight the floods and to transport almost 400 tonnes of relief supplies.  Food, blankets, candles and flashlights were provided to residents in the affected areas.

The same weather system brought the rare sight of snow to northeastern Vietnam. It moved across southern China before clearing out into the East China Sea.

This is usually a dry time of year for the country but some parts saw around three times their December average rainfall.  The city of Zhanjiang which is located in the southwestern end of Guangdong province saw 86mm of rain this weekend.

Hong Kong was still experiencing heavy downpour on Tuesday. As much as 78mm of rain fell in the 24 hours up to 0600GMT. Compare that to a December average of just 31mm for the entire month.

The rain band extended all the way up to the seaport city of Ningpo,in the northeast of Zhejiang province. Here a total of 72mm of rain was in the same time period.

The weather is expected to be a good deal quieter over the next few days. High pressure is now in the process of squeezing the unsettled weather out into the open waters of the Pacific Ocean, allowing a return to hazy sunshine and patchy drizzle for many, but it will remain rather chilly.