China flood news: At least 10 people have died and 33 are missing after flash floods in Yuzhong County in China’s northwestern Gansu province, Chinese state media reported. Heavy rains since Thursday have triggered flash floods and at least one landslide in mountainous areas near the city of Lanzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The downpour knocked out power and telecommunications services in the Xinglong mountain area, leaving more than 4,000 people across four villages stranded.
China floods: Xi orders ‘all-out’ rescue
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged all-out rescue and flood prevention efforts in the area. “The top priority must be to make every possible effort to search for and rescue missing people, relocate and resettle people under threat, minimise casualties, and restore communications and transportation as quickly as possible,” CCTV quoted Xi as saying.
He warned local governments not to succumb to “complacency and carelessness” in light of recent occurrences of extreme weather, CCTV said.
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Record rainfall has lashed China’s north and south in recent weeks in what meteorologists describe as extreme weather events linked to climate change.
China flash flood kills at least 60
In recent days, extreme and severe convective weather, brought by warm, moist air from the edge of the subtropical high, has occurred in Miyun and other areas of Beijing, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. Heavy rains and flooding have killed at least 60 people across northern China, including Beijing, since late July.
China’s climate change
China’s usually arid north has seen record precipitation in recent years, with some scientists linking the rainfall to global warming. In the summer of 2023, heavy rain and flooding killed at least 33 people in Beijing. Rainfall in the city of Xingtai in neighbouring Hebei province exceeded 1,000 mm in two days – double the yearly average.
(With inputs from agencies)