China Evacuates More than 40,000 People from Severe Floods

China – More than 40,000 people in Sichuan province, China have been evacuated because of the severe floods. This was announced by state media on Wednesday, as large amounts of rainfall fell in several parts of the country.

Unusually heavy rains have lashed various regions over the past few weeks, causing floods and landslides, which have destroyed homes, damaged infrastructure and killed several people. 

The rains and floods in China come as other parts of the world are experiencing similarly heavy rains, raising new concerns about the pace of climate change, as reported by the Channel News Asia website.

State television station CCTV reported that 300.7 mm of rain pounded the city of Yaan in Sichuan province for about 14 hours, causing flash floods and landslides that destroyed homes.

Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, issued a red alert, which is the highest warning in the four-tier warning system, for heavy rain. In addition, some areas have also reported record rainfall. 

Guanyun county in Jiangsu province, experienced 275.4 mm of rainfall overnight on Monday, according to the China Meteorological Administration. 

Xiatai city in Guangdong province had an average daily rainfall of 439 mm at the end of June. Yuanling county in Hunan province also saw 137.4 mm of rainfall in one hour on June 30, the Hunan Meteorological Bureau said. 

As a result, meteorological authorities extended a rainstorm warning until Thursday morning, July 13, 2023, for several provinces including Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Sichuan, Gansu, and Tibetan areas. 

The National Meteorological Center said some of those areas could experience more than 70 millimeters of rainfall in an hour, as well as thunderstorms, strong winds and ice storms, state media reported. 

Officials have also repeatedly warned of extreme weather and geological disasters throughout July.