The death toll from severe storms across parts of China has risen to 15, with hundreds injured and tens of thousands evacuated, state media reported on Tuesday. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has called for an “all out” rescue effort to assist those affected by the extreme weather.
Thunderstorms and gale-force winds killed at least 11 people and injured 331 in the central province of Hubei, where “severe convective weather” hit cities and tornadoes were reported late Monday. State news agency Xinhua said 4,800 houses had been damaged and 22 more had collapsed, describing the episode as characterised by its sudden onset and intense, short-duration winds.
In the southern region of Guangxi, heavy rains and flooding caused by Typhoon Maysak killed at least four people, with 50,000 evacuated and eight still missing. Officials in Nanning, the regional capital, raised the flood control emergency response to its highest level after torrential rain breached dams. Dramatic video shared by state media showed a torrent of muddy water rushing past the crumbled concrete walls of a reservoir dam that had burst.
Rescue workers wearing life vests and helmets were seen searching for people and deploying inflatable boats, according to state media footage. Xi said on Tuesday that rescuers should “go all out” in organising emergency operations.
Separately, a landslide in a village in the north-western province of Gansu buried 33 people on Tuesday morning, with 17 successfully rescued. Local authorities said they were making every effort to search for those still trapped and to guard against secondary disasters. Scientists warn that the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events are likely to increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.
