More than a dozen people were missing in China yesterday after heavy rains and flooding struck swaths of the south, while the north baked under some of its highest temperatures this year.
Xinhua news agency reported that four people were unaccounted for after a flash flood in Changji, in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where torrential rains triggered landslides and clogged roads.
Landslides in Meizhou, in southern Guangdong Province, on Monday killed five, left 15 missing and another 13 “trapped” by early the next morning, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said.
Photo: Reuters
Footage from CCTV showed upturned vehicles and damaged buildings near Meizhou, with residents in rubber boots picking through muddy, debris-laden streets to salvage their belongings.
Other images showed sections of highway swept away by landslides and rescue workers in orange jackets steering dinghies through the floodwaters to reach trapped villagers.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) called for emergency workers to “make every effort to respond to disaster situations, and do a good job of relief and rescue work to combat flooding and drought,” Xinhua reported yesterday.
He instructed rescuers to “guarantee the security of people’s lives and property, and overall social stability,” Xinhua added.
Meanwhile, the north of China is wilting under some of the year’s hottest weather as the mercury soared to 39°C in Beijing, the Chinese National Meteorological Center said.
Authorities have moved to offer drought prevention and disaster relief in seven provinces across north, east and central China.
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