(Beijing) At least four people have died and around fifteen are missing in China where record rainfall is affecting the south of the country, official media reported on Tuesday, while the north is experiencing scorching temperatures.
Downpours “exceeding historic daily maximums” in certain areas of Fujian province caused the four deaths, according to the official Xinhua news agency, citing emergency services from the Shanghang department.
More than 66,000 people were affected by the extreme weather in the department, indicates Chine Nouvelle, adding that “communications and electrical infrastructures […] have not yet been fully restored”. The same source reported risks of landslides.
In Guangdong province (south), 15 people were missing in Meizhou after landslides the day before which killed five people, according to state television CCTV.
The channel’s footage showed overturned cars and damaged buildings near Meizhou, where residents in rubber boots tried to retrieve their belongings from muddy water filled with debris.
Other images showed sections of highway washed away by landslides, while rescuers wearing orange vests sailed in rubber boats to reach trapped villagers.
President Xi Jinping called on relief workers to “do everything possible to respond to emergency situations and do a good job in flood and drought relief and rescue,” Xinhua reported Tuesday.
Floods also affected the provinces of Guangxi and Hunan, as well as the Xinjiang region, where four people disappeared after a flash flood in Changji, according to Xinhua.
The north of the country suffered from some of the highest temperatures since the start of the year.
In the capital Beijing and neighboring areas of Tianjin and Hebei, the temperature is expected to reach 39 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, according to the meteorological service.
Authorities have launched measures to prevent drought and the risk of natural disasters in seven provinces in northern, eastern and central China.
China is locally suffering from extreme weather this year, a phenomenon increasingly common with climate change, scientists say. Greenhouse gas emissions are one of the main drivers of climate change, and China is the largest emitter.