BEIJING (CNA) – Non-stop heavy rain lashed parts of southwest China on Friday, triggering floods in some cities, engulfing roads and partially submerging buildings.
A particularly harsh first bout of summer rains known locally as “dragon boat water” saw the city of Beihai in the Guangxi region log 453millitre of precipitation on Thursday. That was a regional daily record for June, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
Cars were half underwater in flooded Beihai streets, and at one multi-storey building water cascaded down a staircase as firefighters raced to rescue its residents, videos circulating on social media showed.
Ferries from Beihai to nearby Weizhou island was suspended until tomorrow, broadcaster CCTV reported, adding that strong winds and continuous heavy rain will hit the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of South China. The nearby city of Yulin, west of Guangdong province, had 35 hours of rain as of 7am on Friday, CCTV reported.
Villages and towns in the area were inundated by flood waters, the province’s firefighting department reported, adding over 100 people were evacuated.
Rain is forecast to continue in southern China over the coming days while the northeast is expected to be hit by sudden thunderstorms, the weather bureau reported.
China, prone to floods, is increasingly warning of more extreme weather due to climate change.
