Agence France-Presse
Six people are dead and four are missing after torrential rain hit China’s northeastern Jilin province, state media reported Sunday, the latest fatalities from more than a week of weather-related disasters across the country.
China has been hit with record heavy rains in recent weeks, with Beijing saying Friday that natural disasters had caused 147 deaths or disappearances last month.
And a further six dead and four were missing after heavy rain in the northeastern city of Shulan, state news agency Xinhua reported Sunday, citing local authorities.
Heavy rains in the area had now “basically ended”, Xinhua said, with almost 19,000 evacuated and 21 “temporary relocation facilities” set up.
Torrential rain brought on in the aftermath of Storm Doksuri, which hit mainland China as a typhoon before veering northwards, is the most severe recorded in 140 years, when records began.
Clean-up operations are ongoing after the overwhelming rainfall, which destroyed infrastructure and flooded entire districts.
State broadcaster CCTV broadcast video of recovery efforts in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, showing villagers using shovels to clear muddy water from buildings.
Millions of people have been hit by extreme weather events and prolonged heatwaves around the globe in recent weeks, events that scientists say are being exacerbated by climate change.
Officials in China said Saturday that at least 10 people had been killed in floods in a city in Hebei province, one of the most affected by the rains, where more than 1.5 million people have been evacuated.
A red alert remained in force in Beijing as of midday Sunday due to “geological risks” such as landslides linked to the bad weather. – gb
