China : 21 dead as torrential rainfall struck Hubei Province

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China : 21 dead as torrential rainfall struck Hubei Province

China : 21 dead as torrential rainfall struck Hubei Province

At least 21 people were killed and four others remained missing as heavy rain lashed a township in central China’s Hubei Province, local authorities said on Friday.

The Liulin Township in Suixian County saw the total precipitation reaching 503 mm from Wednesday to Thursday, causing an average waterlogging depth of 3.5 meters, officials said. Over 8,000 people have been affected in the township, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The deaths were recorded in the township of Liulin, part of the city of Suizhou in the north of the province. More than 2,700 houses and shops suffered flood damage and power, transportation and communications were also disrupted. According to the official China News Service, as many as 774 reservoirs in Hubei had exceeded their flood warning levels by Thursday evening.

The national observatory has advised local authorities to remain alert for possible flooding, landslides and mudslides, and recommended halting outdoor activities in hazardous areas. China has a four-tier colour-coded weather-warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

China’s Meteorological Administration warned that heavy rainfall was likely to continue until next week, with regions along the Yangtze River, including Shanghai, vulnerable to flooding.

Around 100,000 people were evacuated in the south-western province of Sichuan last weekend as heavy rains caused several landslides. More than 300 people were killed in central China’s Henan province last month after record downpours dumped a year’s worth of rain on a city in three days.