Breaking News: Tens of Thousands Evacuated From Massive China Floods
Tens of thousands evacuated from massive China floods after it rained like a waterfall for more than an hour in Guangdong.
Authorities have evacuated over 60,000 people from their houses in Guangdong after days of torrential rain created major flooding in China’s most populated province.
Three individuals have died thus far, and 11 have gone missing, according to state media.
Footage from state TV and online shows enormous swaths of land swamped by floods, as well as rescuers ferrying people on lifeboats through waist-deep water.
Several major rivers have overflowed their banks, and authorities are cautiously monitoring “dangerously high” water levels. They had warned that the level of a river in northern Guangdong could reach a “once in 100 years” peak on Monday morning, but this had yet to happen by lunchtime.
What Caused The Major Floods In Guangdong?
Much of Guangdong is part of the low-lying Pearl River delta, which is vulnerable to flooding due to rising sea levels and storm surges.
The delta is a significant manufacturing hub in China and one of the country’s most densely inhabited areas, with Guangdong alone housing around 127 million people.
The provincial capital Guangzhou, as well as the smaller cities Shaoguan and Heyuan, were among the hardest hit.
Over the weekend, around 1.16 million households in the province lost power, but 80% of them had it restored by Sunday night.
Impact Of The Floodings
Due to heavy rain, flights at Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Airport have been cancelled and delayed, and schools in at least three locations have been ordered closed.
Dozens of residences in the province have either collapsed or been seriously damaged, with officials estimating a direct economic loss of almost 140.6 million yuan ($19.8 million).
Videos posted online show fast-moving torrents demolishing walls and bridges.
A Weibo user reported that her family hurried to shift furniture from the first floor of their home to the second. “The heavy rains have flooded half of the first storey of our home,” the user posted on Sunday night. “I’m wondering if the second floor will be inundated overnight. “I feel helpless.”
“It rained like a waterfall for one and a half hours on the highway when I was driving home last night,” another Weibo user wrote. “I couldn’t see the road at all.”
China’s meteorological authorities have warned that heavy rains would persist in Guangdong and Fujian’s coastal areas until at least Tuesday.
Other sections of the country, including Beijing, Tianjin, and Heibei, are forecast to get “moderate to heavy” rainfall.
Last July, China’s capital Beijing and surrounding provinces, including Hebei, were flooded by torrential rain and flooding as a succession of Pacific Ocean typhoons made landfall in the country.
That week, Beijing saw the greatest rainfall in 140 years.
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