10 dead, 33 missing in northwest China floods

BEIJING: Ten people are dead and 33 missing after flash floods in northwest China‘s Gansu province, state media reported yesterday.

“From Aug 7, continuous heavy rain has triggered flash floods. As of 3.30pm on Aug 8, 10 people have died and 33 are missing,” state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered “utmost effort” in rescuing the missing people, CCTV said.

Due to the “frequent occurrence of extreme weather”, Xi ordered all regions to “resolutely overcome complacency” and strengthen efforts to identify risks, the broadcaster added.

Footage shared by Chinese fire authorities on Weibo showed rescuers guiding people through rushing grey water in a village.

And photos posted by Gansu’s government showed roads covered in silt and large stones.

Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat.

Heavy rains in northern Beijing killed 44 people last month, with the capital’s rural suburbs hit the hardest.

China is the world’s biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense.

But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

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