Rescue teams were clearing debris from inundated roads and taking residents trapped by floodwaters to safety in China’s Hubei province after torrential rains.
Five cities in the central Chinese province of Hubei have declared “red alerts” after torrential rain caused power cuts and destroyed homes, left 21 people dead, forcing the evacuation of nearly 6,000 people, state media reported.
Extreme weather in the province has already damaged more than 3,600 houses and 8,110 hectares of crops, with total losses estimated at 108 million yuan ($16.67 million), the official China Daily said, citing the province’s emergency management bureau.
China regularly experiences flooding during its wet summer months, but authorities have warned that extreme weather is now becoming more frequent as a result of climate change.
The China Meteorological Administration warned that heavy rainstorms were likely to continue until next week, with regions along the Yangtze river vulnerable to flooding.
