Tens of thousands evacuated from China floods

Nearly 60,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Guangdong, China as days of heavy rain caused massive flooding in the country’s most populous province. 

No casualties have been reported so far, but at least 11 people are missing. 

Footage on state media and online shows large swathes of land inundated by the floods and rescue teams taking people to safety in lifeboats. 

Several major rivers have burst their banks, and authorities are closely monitoring “dangerously high” water levels.

They had warned that the level of a river in northern Guangdong could hit a “once in 100 years” peak on Monday morning, though this had yet to materialise by noon.

Much of Guangdong is part of the low-lying Pearl River delta, which is prone to floods due to watershed floods, sea level rise, and storm surges.

The delta is a major manufacturing base in China and one of the country’s most densely-populated regions, with Guangdong alone home to around 127 million people. 

Along with Guangzhou, smaller cities such as Shaoguan and Heyuan were among the worst hit.

Across the province, around 1.16 million households lost power, but 80% had their electricity restored by Sunday night. 

China Flooding Guangdong video

Tens of thousands of people were being evacuated from flood-hit regions of central China as heavy rain has deluged Henan province https://t.co/rtz1tbivMy pic.twitter.com/4sC2GhWZcL

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 22, 2021