81 Dead or Missing in China as Floods Spread to 26 Provinces

Over 740,000 people have had to be relocated amid the worst flooding some areas of the country have witnessed in decades

Persistent downpours from summer monsoons have unleashed damaging floods across over two-thirds of China’s provincial-level regions. Eighty-one people are dead or missing, and over 740,000 have been relocated because of the extreme weather, the state-run People’s Daily reported Saturday.

Since early June, five rounds of heavy rainfall have impacted over 13 million people across at least 26 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. Some areas including the southwestern megacity of Chongqing have seen their worst floods in over two decades.

According to the latest estimate by the national fire department, the rains and deluges have led to a direct economic loss of over 27 billion yuan ($3.8 billion).

The country is expecting continued precipitation in the coming week. Hubei province in central China and Jiangxi in eastern China both recently issued a “severe meteorological disaster (rainstorm) emergency response.” Meanwhile, the southwestern Guizhou province and eastern Anhui province have also upgraded their response levels.

Editor: David Paulk.

(Header image: An aerial view of flooding in Rongjiang County, Guizhou province, June 24, 2020. Wang Bingzhen/People Visual)