Torrential rains across southern and central China have caused widespread flooding and killed at least 10 people, officials and state media reported. The downpours have closed schools and businesses, disrupted transport and power supplies, and prompted emergency responses in several provinces.
China’s weather agency warned that Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan face high risks of landslides, flash floods and severe urban flooding. Meteorologists said the intense rainfall stretched over an area of more than 1,000 km and resulted from the convergence of moisture from the Bay of Bengal, the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean; a slow-moving weather system compounded cumulative rainfall.
Local footage showed residents in Jingzhou, Hubei, wading through knee-deep water and even catching fish in flooded streets, while many vehicles were submerged in residential and commercial areas. Authorities reported suspensions of schools, businesses and transport services in multiple locations and have been relocating residents in parts of Hubei and Hunan.
State broadcaster CCTV said at least six people died when a pickup truck carrying 15 passengers plunged into a flooded river in Guangxi during the downpour. In separate incidents, three people were killed by flash floods in a low-lying village in Hubei and another person died in southern Hunan.
China’s National Meteorological Centre said the severe weather would move east and south over the next two days, with the heaviest rainfall from Wednesday expected along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
On Hainan island authorities issued a geological disaster warning after a mountainside collapsed onto a highway in Lingshui, leading to the closure of several major roads. In Guangxi, officials set up temporary shelters at 99 sites for more than 4,000 people and reported relocating about 7,000 residents following a magnitude-5.2 earthquake on Monday that shook multiple cities in the region.
Emergency services and local governments continue rescue, evacuation and relief efforts as forecasts call for additional heavy rain in affected regions.
