Aerial photo of houses damaged by floods in China’s Hunan province, July 3, 2023. Photo by AP.
In China, more than 10,000 people have been evacuated to safety due to severe flooding in the central province of Hunan, the Xiang’xi Emergency Management Office said on Sunday.
Authorities reported that around 70 houses collapsed, 2,283 houses were damaged and there were flooded crop fields.
The minimal damage from the floods is estimated at 575 million yuan (US$79 million).
Zhenba County in northern Shaanxi Province has seen the worst flooding in 50 years, destroying roads and damaging homes.
So far, no deaths from the flooding have been reported.
In 1998, the worst floods in recent Chinese history killed 4,150 people, mostly in the Yangtze River basin.
In addition, more than 300 people died from this cause in 2021 in the central province of Henan.
According to the National Climate Center, the capital Beijing recorded high temperatures that exceeded 35 degrees Celsius for almost ten straight days.
The last time a similar event happened in the city was in 1961. The fact that it doesn’t rain much could contribute to the rise in temperature.
(With information from AP)