Thousands evacuated as severe flooding hits southern China
A man walking through a flooded street in Zhongshan, in China's southern Guangdong province on June 17. PHOTO: AFP
– Nearly 70,000 people in southern China have been evacuated after heavy flooding caused by Typhoon Wutip, Chinese state media outlets reported on June 18.
Vast areas of Zhaoqing city in Guangdong province were submerged, with flood waters inundating shopfronts and covering roads, footage from state broadcaster China Central Television showed.
Rescuers pushed stranded cars out of the water and used dinghies to transport residents to safety.
Other images showed rescuers wading through water while carrying stranded people on their backs.
The flooding had affected 183,000 residents in Zhaoqing's Huaiji county, with the city mobilising more than 10,000 rescue personnel, state media outlet Xinhua reported.
The flooding affected much of Guangdong province and the neighbouring Guangxi region.
Footage from CCTV filmed on June 17 showed rescuers in Guangxi dragging a rubber boat crammed with people through knee-deep water as heavy rain continued to fall.
Typhoon Wutip, China's first typhoon of 2025, made landfall on the island province of Hainan on June 13, before moving to Guangdong on June 14.
It brought winds gusting up to 128kmh before weakening to a severe tropical storm during the weekend.
Even as its severity subsided, the storm has continued to bring heavy rain to southern China and Zhejiang province in the east, where the authorities issued an emergency response notice for flooding risks.
Rainfall in some areas had surpassed 100mm, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
The authorities in Vietnam said on June 16 that seven people had died in the country after heavy rains and flooding caused by Wutip.
China has endured spates of extreme weather events, from searing heat and drought to downpours and floods, for several summers running.
The country is the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter but also a renewable energy powerhouse, seeking to cut carbon dioxide emissions to net-zero by 2060.
Torrential rains in August 2024 – triggered by Typhoon Gaemi – which moved from the Philippines and Taiwan to make landfall in eastern China, killed at least 30 people and left dozens missing. AFP
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
19 hours ago
- AsiaOne
China warns of more floods as extreme storms hit world's No.2 economy, China News
BEIJING — Central and southern China were on high alert for more flash floods on Friday (June 20) as the annual East Asia monsoon gathered pace and extreme rainfall threatened disruption in the world's second-largest economy. Red alerts, the first for this year, were issued late on Thursday covering the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi region, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the water resources ministry and national weather forecaster. Extreme rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change, increasingly pose major challenges for policymakers as they threaten to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions, and wreak havoc on China's US$2.8 trillion (S$3.59 trillion) agricultural sector. China's rainy season, which arrived earlier than usual this year in early June, is usually followed by intense heat that scorches any crops that survive waterlogged soil, depletes reservoirs, and warps roads and other infrastructure. Economic losses from natural disasters exceeded US$10 billion last July, when the rainfall typically peaks. Damage was triple that amount in 2020 when China endured one of its longest rainy seasons in decades, lashed by rain for more than 60 days, or about three weeks longer than usual. On Thursday, heavy rain in southern Hunan triggered the largest floods since 1998 in the upper and lower reaches of the Lishui River after its water levels breached the safety mark by more than two metres. Videos uploaded to Douyin, as TikTok is known in China, show the river spilling onto main roads and carrying debris downstream. In the hilly metropolis of southwestern Chongqing, apartment blocks were submerged in muddy waters and some vehicles were swept away as floods gushed down streets, according to state media on Thursday. In some cases, the waters almost reached the top of power lines. Nearly 300 people were evacuated from towns and villages in a mountainous county in Chongqing, where cumulative daily rainfall had reached 304mm, with at least one local river swelling by 19 metres due to converging precipitation from the mountains, state broadcaster CCTV reported. On Wednesday, power supply was disrupted in the city of Zhaoqing in southern Guangdong province as flood waters rose more than five metres above warning levels, breaking historical records, local media reported. [[nid:718611]]
CNA
a day ago
- CNA
China warns of extensive flooding after heavy rains
BEIJING: Chinese authorities have warned of flash floods and swift currents in mountainous areas in the eastern, central, southern and southwestern regions of the country after heavy rains there. The red alerts, the first for this year, were issued late on Thursday (Jun 20) covering areas in the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and Guangxi region, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the water resources ministry and national weather forecaster China Meteorological Administration. China is experiencing heavy and sudden rain in many parts, which meteorologists have attributed to climate change, leaving its huge population vulnerable to related disasters. In southern Hunan, heavy rainfall triggered the largest floods since 1998 in the upper and lower reaches of the Lishui River after its water levels breached the safety mark by more than two metres on Thursday. In the hilly metropolis of southwestern Chongqing, apartment blocks were submerged in muddy waters and some vehicles were swept away in flood waters gushing down streets, according to state broadcaster CCTV's footage and images from Thursday. An image showed flood waters almost reaching the top of power cable lines. Water and power supply were also disrupted in some areas, CCTV said. Nearly 300 people were evacuated from towns and villages in Pengshui county, where cumulative daily rainfall had reached 304mm, and floods were made worse by precipitation from the mountains converging into the Ditang River which had swollen by 19m, according to CCTV. The water in several other rivers in Chongqing had also exceeded alert levels due to the extreme rainfall, Xinhua said. On Wednesday, power supply was disrupted in the city of Zhaoqing in southern Guangdong Province as flood waters rose more than five metres above warning levels, breaking historical records, local media reported.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
China warns of extensive flooding after heavy rains
Rescue workers evacuate residents stranded by floodwaters with a boat, following heavy rainfall in Huaiji county, Guangdong province, China on June 18, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS BEIJING - Chinese authorities have warned of flash floods and swift currents in mountainous areas in the eastern, central, southern and south-western regions of the country after heavy rains there. The red alerts, the first for 2025, were issued late on June 19 covering areas in the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and Guangxi region, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the water resources ministry and national weather forecaster China Meteorological Administration. China is experiencing heavy and sudden rain in many parts, which meteorologists have attributed to climate change, leaving its huge population vulnerable to related disasters. In southern Hunan, heavy rainfall triggered the largest floods since 1998 in the upper and lower reaches of the Lishui River after its water levels breached the safety mark by more than 2m on June 19. In the hilly metropolis of south-western Chongqing, apartment blocks were submerged in muddy waters and some vehicles were swept away in flood waters gushing down streets, according to state broadcaster CCTV's footage and images from June 19. An image showed flood waters almost reaching the top of power cable lines. Water and power supply were also disrupted in some areas, CCTV said. Nearly 300 people were evacuated from towns and villages in Pengshui county, where cumulative daily rainfall had reached 304mm, and floods were made worse by precipitation from the mountains converging into the Ditang River which had swollen by 19m, according to CCTV. The water in several other rivers in Chongqing had also exceeded alert levels due to the extreme rainfall, Xinhua said. On June 18, power supply was disrupted in the city of Zhaoqing in southern Guangdong Province as floodwaters rose more than five metres above warning levels, breaking historical records, local media reported. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
