Floods wreak havoc, heavy rain to continue

Severe rainfall wreaked havoc across China, leaving thousands stranded in its wake, and is forecast to continue through Saturday, according to media reports and the National Meteorological Center.

On Friday afternoon, the emergency management bureau of Baiyun district, Guangzhou, announced that after continuous rescue efforts by multiple departments at the provincial, municipal and district levels, all 14 people trapped in the landslide in Dayuan village, Baiyun district, had been found. Seven were confirmed dead, while seven others were injured and taken to hospital. None of the injured are in life-threatening condition, and three have already been discharged. Search and rescue operations at the site have concluded.

Starting Thursday, Gansu province in Northwest China experienced heavy downpours, leading to flash floods in Yuzhong county, Lanzhou city, which blocked roads and left more than 4,000 people stranded, China Central Television reported.

The flash floods carried a large amount of mud, sand and debris onto the roads, and mud accumulations exceeded 5 centimeters, hindering vehicular traffic on Thursday.

The Xinglong Mountain area in the county experienced power outages and communication disruptions.

Authorities in Lanzhou issued a red warning for floods in medium and small rivers and mountainous areas, the highest of the four-tier warning system, on Friday. Rescue efforts are ongoing, CCTV reported on Friday.

Elsewhere in Zhengzhou, Henan province, a video taken by a citizen on Thursday afternoon showed scooter seats submerged in standing water in Erqi district, ThePaper.cn reported.

The National Meteorological Center has forecast heavy rainfall in northern and northwestern China, as well as regions along the Yellow, Yangtze and Huaihe rivers from Friday to Saturday. Parts of Hebei and Shandong provinces are expected to be hit by torrential rain with some areas forecast to witness thunderstorms, strong winds and hail.

Chen Tao, chief forecaster at the center, said the latest bout of heavy rain in northern China is closely linked to atmospheric circulation. A stronger than usual western Pacific subtropical high, positioned farther north than normal, has provided water vapor to fuel the rains since July.

The terrain of the Yinshan, Taihang and Yanshan mountains has also amplified the rainfall. The warm and moist air currents from the south tend to rise and converge in the mountainous areas, favoring the repeated occurrence of heavy rainfall in these regions. This leads to significantly above-average cumulative precipitation in areas like Beijing and Hebei province, he said.