Several people have died in floods in southern China. Others are missing. While the south is battling with water, drought is raging elsewhere.
At least 13 people have died after heavy rain and flooding in southern China, the official news agency Xinhua reported. In some regions in the southeast of the country, continuous rain fell for 24 hours. More people are missing.
Videos from the news agency show helpers driving through flooded streets in rubber dinghies or wading through the water and bringing people out of their homes. The Fujian and Guangdong regions in southeast China have been particularly affected by the floods. There are many rivers there that have now overflowed their banks.
The situation also remained tense in other parts of the country in the south and southeast. According to the weather authority, the provinces of Guangxi, Jiangxi and Zhejiang were expecting heavy rainfall on Wednesday. The authority warned of an increased risk of flooding, particularly in the northern part of Guangxi and Fujian, where there are also many rivers.
Heavy rain threatens tens of thousands
Around 66,500 people in the area have been affected by the rains so far. In recent days, the water masses have caused an increasing number of landslides, houses and small bridges have collapsed, and in some places people have to get by without electricity. According to Chinese state television, the economic damage is estimated to be in the millions of euros.
Between the weather extremes
While the south is battling rain, the north is suffering from heat and drought. In the province of Hebei, where the major cities of Beijing and Tianjin are located, temperatures of up to 40 degrees were again expected in some places. Because of the flood and drought situation in China, head of state and party leader Xi Jinping called for everything to be done to help those affected and to improve the forecasts.
With information from ARD correspondent Eva Lamby-Schmitt