Five cities in the central Chinese province of Hubei have declared “red alerts” after torrential rain left 21 people dead and forced the evacuation of nearly 6,000 people, state media reported.
The deaths were recorded in the township of Liulin, part of the city of Suizhou in the north of the province.
More than 2,700 houses and shops suffered flood damage and power, transport and communications were also disrupted, according to a report on Friday by the official Xinhua news agency.
According to a separate report by state-run Global Times newspaper, rainfall in some towns in Suizhou exceeded 100mm (3.9 inches) from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning, triggering the flooding.
Some shops along the roadside have been reportedly flooded with water levels reaching the second floor. The region is out of electricity and tap water, Hubei’s provincial rescue authority was quoted as saying by the state-run tabloid.
Rescue crews have been dispatched to the worst affected areas, including the cities of Suizhou, Xiangyang and Xiaogan, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management said.
The city of Yicheng also saw a record 400mm (15.7 inches) of rain on Thursday...
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Twenty-one people were killed and four others missing as heavy rain lashed a township in central China's Hubei province from Wednesday to Thursday, local authorities said Friday.
ReplyDeleteThe Liulin Township in Suixian County saw total precipitation reaching 503 mm from 9 p.m. Wednesday to 9 a.m. Thursday, causing an average waterlogging depth of 3.5 meters, the county said in an announcement.
Over 8,000 people have been affected in the township, according to the announcement.
Disaster relief and rescue efforts are underway.