Heavy rains continued to flood cities across southern and eastern China on Wednesday, destroying crops and infrastructure, trapping residents, and triggering landslides, even as heatwaves drove up the power demand to record levels in north and central China, media reports said.
As many as 113 rivers in China were flowing above the danger mark, including seven above historical levels, water resources ministry said, according to state television.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from the inundated provinces by the military and emergency workers as weather authorities warned of more rain in the coming days.
“In Guangdong, the provincial emergency management department said heavy rainfall has impacted 479,600 people, 27.13 hectares (67 acres) of crops and led to the collapse of 1,729 houses, resulting in economic loss of 1.756 billion yuan ($261 million),” the Associated Press said, citing a report in the state-run Xinhua news agency.
“Loaded freight train carriages weighing about 960” tonnes were being used to fortify a railway bridge in a city in Jiaxngxi province, according to Xinhua.
Torrential rainfall for days has swept away houses, cars, and even heavy vehicles in affected cities, while many roads have collapsed or been swept away.
Chinese authorities have not lifted “red alerts”, the most severe warning, that were issued in the past week in many places, warning residents to be vigilant for possible landslides and mountain torrents.
“In Zhejiang province north of Guangdong, rescue crews in inflatable boats brought out residents trapped in their homes in inundated villages,” the Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile, demand for electricity in many Chinese localities has set new records amid a heatwave in central and northern provinces, state media reported.
“The maximum power demand so far this month reached 844 million kilowatts, and in Northwest China and North China, demand was up 8.81 percent and 3.21 percent from the same period last year, according to State Grid Corp of China,” the Global Times reported.
Power demand has risen as temperatures climb, with homes and businesses cranking up air conditioning, said People’s Daily, the Communist Party of China mouthpiece.
China’s national observatory has renewed an alert for high temperatures for 12 provinces and regions, with some regions such as Hebei province in the north and Shandong province in the east expected to see temperatures cross 40 degrees Celsius.
“Premier Li Keqiang, visiting a thermal power company in the northern province of Hebei, said China must increase coal production capacity to “resolutely prevent power outages”, according to a state media summary published late on Tuesday,” the AP report added.
“A return of factory operations after Covid-19 flare-ups were brought under control in regions including Shanghai also pushed up electricity consumption in major Chinese cities,” the People’s Daily reported.
