China - Torrential Rains Trigger Deadly Floods and Landslides

BEIJING: Heavy rainfall has unleashed widespread flooding and landslides across China’s northern and western regions, prompting red alerts and large-scale emergency responses. The seasonal "Plum Rains," now peaking, have severely impacted provinces from Sichuan in the southwest to Gansu in the northwest and up to Liaoning in the northeast, causing destruction and claiming several lives.

More than 1,000 rescue workers were deployed to Taiping in Henan province after a river overflowed, killing five and leaving three missing. In Gansu, two more lives were lost in a landslide at a construction site. The deluge has forced suspension of some Beijing-bound trains and caused delays and cancellations at one of the capital’s airports. Meanwhile, in Guangxi, dramatic landslides destroyed buildings, including a five-storey structure that collapsed into a river in Xinzhou, where flooding reached record levels.

Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, during a visit to Hebei, urged local authorities to take urgent preventive steps, especially in rural areas where forecasting systems are weaker. With climate change contributing to the frequency and severity of such disasters, experts warn that China's ageing infrastructure and rural vulnerabilities remain under serious threat. While the north battles flooding, China’s eastern coastal regions are facing extreme heat, adding further complexity to the country’s weather-related challenges.