12 dead, thousands evacuated as flash floods followed by torrential rains hit China

Deadly flash flooding in China has forced thousands to evacuate.(AP/Chinatopix)

Chinese official media reports that flash floods in the southwest and northwest China have killed at least a dozen people and placed thousands of others in danger.

In the southwestern province of Sichuan, at least six people have been killed, and an additional twelve are missing after torrential rain created flash floods, according to the state-run news agency CGTN.

According to the article, over 1,300 individuals had been evacuated as of Saturday.

CCTV reported that 3,000 people had been evacuated from the city of Longnan in the northwestern province of Gansu, where six deaths had been confirmed.

In the worst-affected locations, as much as 98.9 millimeters of precipitation fell for a day and a half, over double the July normal.

Last week, temperatures reached as high as 42 degrees Celsius in areas of China, including the eastern Zhejiang province and the city of Shanghai, before the rains arrived.

Due to climate change, such catastrophic weather events are becoming more likely, according to experts.

Warmer air can hold more water, resulting in greater cloudbursts when the water is released.

The flooding exacerbates the economic difficulties caused partly by "Zero-COVID" restrictions that restrict mobility and disrupt supply lines.

This northern summer, China is not the only country facing harsh weather.

Due to droughts, low water levels in the Rhine have hampered the supply chain for commodities entering Germany.

Heatwaves have sparked deadly wildfires in France, Portugal, Spain, and Greece, consuming thousands of hectares of land and killing numerous people.

The British weather service issued its first-ever "red warning" of excessive heat for Monday and Tuesday when temperatures in England are expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius.

In the following days, temperatures in the south of the United States are forecast to reach over 38 degrees Celsius.

Publish : 2022-07-17 20:11:00

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