Heavy rains have caused floods and landslides in southern China’s Guangdong province, killing at least 47 people, according to Chinese authorities.
Meizhou, a city of about 3.8 million people, began experiencing “once-in-a-century” rains last week, state media said. Authorities said Sunday that about 9,000 homes remained without power and were still working on Monday to restore power and water to some residents.
Initially, authorities said nine people had died in the city of Meizhou. But on Friday afternoon, the death toll jumped when authorities reported a further 38 deaths in Pingyuan county, which is under the jurisdiction of Meizhou city. Two more people are missing in the county, authorities said, but no further information was released.
More than 100,000 people were evacuated, according to state media.
Meizhou has been hit by extreme weather this year, including in May when several days of heavy rains caused a 60-foot section of highway to collapse, killing 48 people.
Flood deaths have also been reported this month in neighboring Fujian, Guangxi and Hunan provinces. In Hunan’s capital Changsha, police rescued people from waist-high water near the main train station on Monday, state media reported.
Across the country, people are bracing for potential weather disasters this summer. Southern China has been hit by heavy rains intermittently for months, while northern provinces have warned of drought. The capital, Beijing, issued a heat wave warning last week. And around the world, this year is on track to be the hottest on record.
Chinese authorities have warned that unusually heavy rains could continue into the end of the month, concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
