Heavy rain continued to pour down on southern and central China on May 19, killing at least 12 people, and causing widespread flooding, disrupting traffic, electricity and forcing many schools and businesses to close.
The Chinese meteorological agency warned that the areas of Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan are facing a high risk of disasters related to heavy rain, including landslides, flash floods, serious urban flooding and prolonged waterlogging.
Local authorities said emergency response mechanisms had been activated in many affected areas. Chinese state media reported that schools, businesses and some transportation services had to temporarily suspend operations in Hubei and Hunan. Authorities also evacuated people in many high-risk locations.
In Jingzhou city, Hubei province, images posted on the Douyin video platform show many streets submerged in water to the knees. People can even catch fish swimming on the streets. Some cars are almost completely submerged between residential and commercial areas surrounded by water.
According to China Central Television (CCTV), at least 8 people died after a pickup truck carrying 15 agricultural workers fell into a flooded river in southwestern Guangxi amid prolonged heavy rain.
In other incidents, 3 people died from flash floods in a low-lying village in Hubei. Another death was recorded in Hunan province in southern China.
Chinese meteorologists believe that the unusually heavy rain area stretching more than 1,000km appears due to the convergence of abundant humidity from the Bay of Bengal, the East Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The slow-moving weather system also causes rain accumulation at a very high level.
The National Meteorological Center of China said that extreme weather will gradually shift east and south in the next 2 days. From May 21, the area with the most rain is expected to be located along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
On Hainan Island in southern China, authorities issued a geological disaster warning after a mountainside collapsed onto the highway in Lingshui. The incident caused many major roads in the area to be closed.
In parallel with the flood situation, the Guangxi government is also handling the aftermath of the 5.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred on May 19. Authorities have set up 99 temporary shelters for more than 4,000 people and evacuated about 7,000 people after the tremors spread to many cities in the area.
