Rescuers scoured flooded parts of China for survivors on Wednesday as residents began cleaning up their devastated homes, after storms killed 17 people and caused dozens of rivers to overflow and a reservoir dam to burst.
Extreme weather has wreaked havoc on southern and central China this week, with a super typhoon heading towards eastern provinces this weekend.
In the southern region of Guangxi, six people died and at least 130,000 people were evacuated to safety after torrential rain and severe flooding from Typhoon Maysak, officials said.
Fast-flowing muddy water burst the banks of 40 rivers and waterways in the region, damaging nearly 13,000 acres of agricultural land, state media reported.
In the village of Liulan, where a reservoir dam collapsed, floodwaters had receded when AFP reporters arrived on Wednesday but the streets and houses were swamped with thick mud.
Reporters saw multiple vehicles that had been washed into fields nearby, buried in silt.
“When faced with these natural disasters, we really feel powerless,” said resident Wu Yuhao. “But now people from all walks of life and the army are helping us, so we can really feel that sense of unity and strength.”
Water from the reservoir was still rushing high and fast through the river, as a rescue team sent large drones carrying food and supplies to people trapped on the other side.
Chinese authorities were sending additional disaster relief like food, raincoats and rubber boats to the region, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Earlier, videos published by state broadcaster CCTV showed torrents of water rushing past the crumbled concrete walls of the reservoir dam, while rescue workers wearing life vests were deployed on inflatable boats.
Volunteers from nearby towns and villages had joined official rescue forces to help with relief efforts.
“Coming to the front line feels pretty heavy, emotionally speaking,” volunteer Qin Qiuyu told AFP. “In the worst-hit areas, people are still calling out for help non-stop, and they need our support.”
A restaurant worker named Huang in nearby Hengzhou told AFP that “some houses collapsed… and were washed away” by the floods.
– ‘Severe test’ –
AFP correspondents in Liulan saw residents begin the long process of cleaning up their wrecked homes, some using excavators to scoop all their damaged household items out in one go.
Around 375,000 people in Guangxi have been affected by the disaster, CCTV said.
Guangxi officials have maintained the second-highest level for flood-control emergency response, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Flood peaks “exceeding the warning water level” by more than six metres (20 feet) are expected at the Wuzhou Hydrological Station in Guangxi early Thursday, Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying said.
“Due to the impact of persistent heavy rainfall and the prolonged passage of floodwaters at high levels, the safety of reservoirs and embankments in the affected areas faces a severe test,” he added.
In the central province of Hubei, thunderstorms and gale-force winds have killed 11 people and injured 331, and tornadoes were reported elsewhere late on Monday, Xinhua said.
One person is missing in Hubei, 4,800 houses were damaged and 22 more had collapsed, it added.
– Super typhoon approaching –
Eastern provinces are meanwhile preparing for the impact of Super Typhoon Bavi, which could make landfall “near the Zhejiang-Fujian border area” between Saturday and Sunday, CCTV said, citing the National Meteorological Center.
The typhoon could also move northwards over waters east of Taiwan and make landfall directly on the coast of Zhejiang, CCTV added.
Bavi tore through US Pacific territories earlier this week, leaving tens of thousands of people without power on Guam and the Northern Marianas.
Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience intense rainfall while others bake in scorching heat.
But scientists warn the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.
Separately in northwestern China’s Gansu province, the death toll from a Tuesday landslide rose to 21, state media reported, as search and rescue operations had concluded.
The cause of the landslide was still under investigation, according to local media.
Authorities set aside 70 million yuan ($10 million) in disaster relief funds to help resettle those displaced in Hubei, and another 60 million yuan in reconstruction funds for Gansu.
