A week after the 3rd strongest storm of the year Gaemi hit Hunan province, southern China, on August 2, Chinese rescue forces are still struggling to find dozens of missing people. Meanwhile, emergency rescue forces are quickly patching broken dikes in flooded rivers.
Reuters noted that even before Typhoon Gaemi made landfall on July 25, China had experienced many months of severe weather. China's southern provinces recorded record rains while the north of the country experienced intense heat waves. Chinese weather officials are warning of more severe weather in August.
During storm No. 3, Chenzhou city in Hunan recorded up to 673.9 mm of rain in 24 hours, equivalent to a quarter of the city's average annual rainfall.
As the strongest storm to hit China this year, Gaemi left 30 people dead and 35 missing in Sam Chau, Reuters quoted information from local officials announced at a press conference on August 2.
"Typhoon Gaemi caused great damage to Chenzhou. The storm is a very serious natural disaster" - Hunan province disaster prevention official Xiao Yingbin shared.
Another official said that due to Typhoon Gaemi, power supply was cut in 149 villages and communications were cut off in 78 villages, while 1,641 houses were destroyed and 1,345 road sections collapsed.
About 118,000 residents of Sam Chau, or 1/3 of the city's population, and about 13,800 hectares of crops were affected by storm Gaemi.
On August 1, during his visit to Chenzhou, Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang asked rescue forces to make efforts to find missing people, restore infrastructure and prevent disasters such as landslides.
According to local officials, the mountainous terrain and dense forests pose a challenge for rescuers. Rescuers were forced to travel on foot to the worst-affected areas that were cut off due to transport damage during the natural disaster.
Some places had to drop relief supplies by air, according to local emergency management official Cao Zhongsheng.
Across Hunan province, heavy rains affected 1.15 million people, with direct economic losses reaching 6.13 billion yuan ($849 million).
This week, authorities are working to repair broken dikes on the Juanshui River. In addition, two other dikes broke on July 28.
July 2024 was the hottest month in China's modern history. The latest weather forecast from the China National Climate Center says more severe weather will occur in China in August, with many areas expected to experience more rain than during the same period in previous years.
Mr. Jia Xiaolong - Deputy Director of the China National Climate Center - said that the center's storm forecasters believe there is a possibility of up to three storms hitting China in August.
In addition, drought is expected in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in central China. He called for measures such as cloud seeding to ensure crops grow.
