China’s president, Xi Jinping, has called for stronger efforts to protect lives and property from severe flooding, as the country’s scientists warned July will bring more misery from extreme weather.
Fifteen people died and four were missing after torrential rain lashed the metropolis of Chongqing and swathes of southwestern China, local officials and state media said on Wednesday.
Heavy rain has displaced thousands of people in the centre of China, and destroyed bridges and other property. Video captured one building in southwest Chongqing crumbling into a raging torrent, and the national broadcaster reported a railway bridge collapsed after it was weakened by flood waters in the same region.
More than 10,000 people were also evacuated in recent days from homes in central Hunan province, where dozens of buildings collapsed and initial damage estimates reached nearly 600m yuan ($80m).
Flood warnings are now also in place for the north including Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.
China regularly faces severe flooding, and as global warming fuels more frequent extreme weather, problems are likely to intensify.
Chinese meteorological authorities warned the country can expect “multiple natural disasters in July, including floods, severe convection weather, typhoons and high temperatures”, AFP reported.
Beijing has already endured its hottest June since 2000, with temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius for 14 days. Shaanxi province endured “once in fifty years” heavy rains over the weekend, AFP reported.
China’s rapid urbanisation, along with the global climate crisis, mean even major cities are at risk from rising waters.
In 2021, flood waters swept through Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, turning streets into rivers and trapping travellers in flooded metro trains, some chest deep in water. At least 12 people were killed.
The deadliest floods in recent history were in 1998, when over 4,000 people were killed, mostly along the Yangtze river.
China is currently the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, responsible for around a quarter of all emissions contributing to global heating. It has pledged that emissions will peak in 2030, and it will be carbon neutral by 2060.
AFP contributed to this report