Four dead, five missing in southwest China floods

BEIJING: Severe flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall killed four people and left five others missing in southwestern China’s Guizhou province, state media said Tuesday, with authorities evacuating thousands.

Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer, when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat.

Guizhou’s Guiding County was battered by “sudden heavy rainfall and extreme weather” from Monday into Tuesday, state news agency Xinhua said, adding that floods and landslides had submerged houses and damaged roads.

As of 3 pm (0700 GMT) Tuesday, four people had died, it said, adding search and rescue operations were ongoing for five others missing.

Authorities evacuated over a thousand people in neighbouring Majiang County, state broadcaster CCTV said.

CCTV videos showed rushing brown water flooding a residential area surrounded by fallen trees.

Rescue workers wearing life vests and helmets were shown trudging through the muddy water covered in debris, with one piggybacking an elderly woman to safety.

Authorities had allocated thousands of flood control and drought relief supplies, including drainage equipment, to support Guizhou in its flood prevention and rescue efforts, Xinhua reported Sunday, citing the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Scientists warn the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.

China is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, but it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.