At least six people have died and more than 80,000 people were evacuated from their homes after floods inundated China‘s Guizhou province, state media reported. The “exceptionally large floods” swept through Guizhou’s Rongjiang county, prompting authorities to activate the highest-level emergency flood response.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, the floods have caused significant damage, with many low-lying areas inundated, infrastructure seriously damaged, and some people trapped.
The local flood control headquarters reported that six people had unfortunately lost their lives as of Thursday morning. Emergency services have been carrying out rescue operations, and tents have been set up to serve as temporary shelters for those displaced.
Images published by state news agency Xinhua showed rescue operations in progress, with people being rescued from the third floor of their homes and a football field submerged under three meters of water.
The floods have also prompted a massive evacuation effort, with about 80,900 people relocated to safer areas. As the water level in the county has retreated below the warning level, post-disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts are underway. In other parts of Guizhou, where the floods have subsided, people were seen clearing up debris and thick layers of mud that covered the lower sections of some business establishments and other buildings.
Meanwhile, a tropical depression made landfall in Hainan early on Thursday, according to the National Meteorological Centre. The storm is expected to move across the island’s northeast tip, heading back into the South China Sea, and making a second landfall in China’s southern Guangdong province. This will likely test the flood defenses of the densely populated Guangdong province, as well as Guangxi and Hunan further inland.
China is currently enduring a summer of extreme weather, with authorities issuing the second-highest heat warning for the capital, Beijing, on one of its hottest days of the year so far. Last week, tens of thousands of people were evacuated in Hunan province due to heavy rain brought about by Typhoon Wutip.