Death toll surpasses 60, 9 300 homes collapsed as heavy rain hits China
Image credit: Xinhua
Heavy rain affecting southern and central China this week claimed lives of at least 64 people and forced evacuation of 356 000. The affected region stretches from Guangdong to Chongqing.
According to data provided by China's Ministry of Emergency Management on June 14, floods and landslides destroyed 9 300 homes and damaged 3.71 million (9.16 million acres) of crops, causing direct economic losses of about $1.93 billion (13.35 billion yuan). More than 4 300 people were rescued from floodwaters.
More than 20 000 homes in the south-west region of Guangxi are without power.
A massive landslide hit a 120-m (390-foot) section of a road in Heyuan city, Fujian province early June 14, leaving one person dead and 2 missing.
Since the start of the rainy season, heavy rainfall and floods affected 6.75 million people, according to official data provided June 11. This is down 48% from the average affected population over the past 5 years.
Direct economic losses to June 11 amounted to 10 billion yuan (about 1.45 billion U.S. dollars), down 41% from the average amount of the last five years.
Some 623 000 ha (1.53 million acres) of crops were affected and over 15 000 houses collapsed or were severely damaged, down 32% and 79% than the average over the last five years, respectively.
The country was also hit by droughts which affected 4.07 million people and 640 000 ha (1.58 million acres) of crops as of early June.
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
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