Southern China was hit by heavy rain last weekend. Homes, streets and farmlands have been flooded and rescuers are still trying to evacuate residents trapped in the rising water.
Monday April 22, 2024 at 4:14 PM
Since April 16, persistent downpour has been ravaging the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, the manufacturing heart of China and one of the most densely populated regions in the country with 127 million inhabitants. Four deaths were reported on Monday and ten others were missing.
Four weather stations in the province have already recorded record rainfall for April. And the heavy rain caused almost 100,000 people to evacuate.
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“Once in a century”
Since last week, at least 44 rivers in the Pearl River basin have swelled above the warning limit and are at risk of bursting their banks, state broadcaster CCTV said.
For the Bei River, which flows into the Pearl River, authorities have warned of a “once in a century” flood expected to rise 5.8 meters above the warning limit.
The tributary burst its banks on April 8, marking the earliest flooding since records began in 1998, according to Guangdong authorities.
Aerial footage broadcast by CCTV at the weekend showed villages being flooded by murky water, with in some places only roofs and treetops visible.
Authorities on Sunday raised flood emergency measures in the Pearl River Delta to level 2, the second highest level in a four-level system. Schools are closed in many cities and hundreds of flights have been canceled in the metropolises Guangzhou and Shenzhen. More than 80 houses have already collapsed or been severely damaged.
The Pearl River basin is subject to annual flooding from April to September, but the region has experienced more intense rainfall and severe flooding in recent years.
Last year, China experienced “more intense and extreme” downpours during the flood season than in previous years. 72 national weather stations recorded record amounts of daily precipitation and 346 stations broke monthly records.
