Torrential rain continues to pound China

Several provinces in southern China have been hit by renewed flooding.

Xuanen, central China, flooding
The annual rains regularly bring flooding to parts of China as they sweep northwards across the country [AFP]

Over the past few days flooding has returned to southern China.

In the last few days, at least four people have been confirmed dead in Guizhou. Torrential rains caused hundreds of homes to collapse and triggered several landslides.

Meanwhile in the neighbouring province of Guangxi, the water rose as high as 1.4 metres in the city of Nanning.

This submerged several major roads and stranded many vehicles. Over 30 people had to be rescued by the emergency services.

This time of year is always very wet in China, thanks to the Asian monsoon.

As the summer approaches, the Asian landmass heats up. This causes the pressure to drop, drawing winds up from the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. These warm, moist winds bring the majority of the rainfall to many parts of the country.

So important are these rains that many countries have their own name for them. In China they’re known as the Meiyu Rains, in Japan they’re the Baiu Rains and in Korea they’re known as the Jangma Rains.

The rains don’t remain heavy for the entirety of the season, but over the past few days the rains have turned torrential in southern China. This has paralysed traffic and inundated homes and businesses.

The rains are expected to remain across China for the next few months. They do not normally retreat until early October, meaning the threat of flooding continues for many more weeks to come.

Source: Al Jazeera