Earth Science News
WHITE OUT
Landslides injure 6 as southern China braces for 'once a century' floods
Landslides injure 6 as southern China braces for 'once a century' floods
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) April 21, 2024

Landslides in southern China injured at least six people and trapped others, state media reported Sunday, as the region braced for severe floods "seen around once a century".

Torrential downpours across swathes of Guangdong province since Thursday have swollen rivers in the Pearl River Delta and triggered deluges in mountainous areas.

State broadcaster CCTV said Sunday that rains had sparked landslides affecting six villages in the northern Guangdong town of Jiangwan, "causing people to become trapped".

Photographs published by CCTV showed waterfront homes destroyed by a wall of brown mud, and people in fluorescent-coloured ponchos sheltering in a soaked public sports court.

No deaths were immediately reported and the total number of trapped people was not specified.

But CCTV said six people who were "trapped and injured" in the landslides had been airlifted to the nearby city of Shaoguan.

Emergency workers were racing to restore communications to the stricken area "as soon as possible", CCTV said.

It added that more than 80 rescuers were working "through the day and night" to assist people in the disaster zone.

The Pearl River Delta is China's manufacturing heartland and one of the country's most densely populated regions, with Guangdong alone home to around 127 million people.

Aerial footage by CCTV on Sunday showed murky flood-waters lapping close to street level in some towns, leaving riverside promenades and pavilions inundated and a pagoda protruding from the deluge.

Authorities have launched a level-two emergency response in the Pearl River Delta, the second-highest in a four-tier system.

- 'Once a century' -

The national weather office imposed weather alerts across central Guangdong and warned of major storms in coastal areas through Sunday evening and into Monday.

Citing the provincial hydrology bureau, CCTV said three monitored locations in the Bei River basin would "experience flooding seen around once a century... due to the impact of heavy precipitation".

Floods of up to 5.8 metres (19 feet) above the warning limit would strike the areas starting early Monday morning, according to CCTV.

Several other monitored tributaries in the basin would endure the kind of floods seen once every 50 years, it said.

There were no initial reports of mass evacuations.

Parts of the neighbouring provinces of Jiangxi and Fujian were also forecast to see severe rainstorms on Sunday evening.

China is no stranger to extreme weather but recent years have seen the country whiplashed by severe floods, grinding droughts and record heat.

Climate change driven by human-emitted greenhouse gases makes extreme weather events more frequent and intense, and China is the world's biggest emitter.

Related Links
It's A White Out at TerraDaily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WHITE OUT
Three Dutch skiers die in Austria avalanche
Vienna (AFP) April 11, 2024
Three Dutch skiers died, while another was injured in an avalanche in the Austrian province of Tyrol on Thursday, police said. The four were part of a 17-member group from the Netherlands on a ski touring excursion near the renowned resort of Soelden, together with four Austrian guides. "There are three fatalities," a police spokesman told AFP. A fourth Dutch person was rescued and flown to hospital, according to police, who did not immediately have further details as to the victims' identit ... read more

WHITE OUT
Ecuador approves extradition, anti-gang measures

Asia hit hardest by climate, weather disasters in 2023:UN

Post-WWII order on 'brink of collapse': Amnesty head

Satellite data reveals subsidence risk for a third of China's urban population

WHITE OUT
US firms reestablish rare earth element production

This alloy is kinky

Machine learning identifies hybrid glass-crystal phase in study

New NMR technique enhances understanding of zeolite structures

WHITE OUT
As Olympics near, Macron says Seine will be clean enough for him

Plastic pollution impacts embryo survival across multiple marine species

Norway women bring seaweed to culinary heights in Europe

Drought-hit Barcelona to get floating desalination plant

WHITE OUT
West Antarctic ice shelf stability threatened by feedback loop

New geological map redefines understanding of Greenland's subterranean rocks

From peak to plummet: impending decline of the warm Arctic-cold continents phenomenon

Ocean currents drive rapid Antarctic ice shelf melting

WHITE OUT
Wine growers 'on tip of Africa' race to adapt to climate change

Waste not want not: Peruvian drive to feed more with less

Record heat rots cocoa beans threatening Ivory Coast agriculture

Farmers dump sheep killed by wolves in front of Swiss government building

WHITE OUT
'Crisis not over' as eruptions at Indonesia volcano go on

Greece floods reconstruction to cost over 3 bn euros: PM

Taiwan hit by dozens of strong aftershocks from deadly quake

Taiwan hit by dozens of strong aftershocks from deadly quake

WHITE OUT
African leaders call for more cooperation on terrorism

Mauritanian defence minister in Mali after diplomatic row

US, Niger begin talks on exit of American troops

IMF chief urges attention to war-ravaged Yemen, Sudan

WHITE OUT
Evidence of long term human occupation in lava tube cave in Saudi Arabia

Schoningen Discoveries Highlight Wood's Vital Role in Early Human Technology

Activists slam new Hong Kong ID card policy for trans people

Paleolithic sites near water sources key to understanding early human hunting practices

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.