Chinese media revealed that 15 people were killed and three others remain missing after incessant rainfall triggered flooding in China’s northern Shanxi province.
Close to 1.75 million residents have been impacted in 76 counties, cities, and districts, with more than 120,000 people currently displaced, according to public broadcaster CGTN.
The floods in north China's Shanxi Province have affected 1.75 million people,forcing the emergency relocation of over 120,000 people.
— ☆ Sniper (@washinton_dc) October 12, 2021
These frequent extreme weather events are true evident of climate change. pic.twitter.com/xZaAzyKfRJ
The region was lashed by torrential rains from Oct. 2 to Oct. 7, damaging thousands of hectares of farmlands and destroying over 19,500 houses, the report said.
The initial direct economic losses stand at around $780 million, it added.
Authorities have, however, lowered the emergency flood response level, saying that the “flood situation in the province has stabilized” and “water levels of small and medium-sized rivers have fallen below the warning mark,” state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
The downpour in Shanxi this month was “three times the normal average rainfall for October in previous years,” the report said.
China's biggest coal-producing region was hit by floods at the worst possible time, as the country's energy supplies are already strained: Massive floods have hit China's Shanxi province, forcing coal mines to shut amid an energy crisis in the country. https://t.co/1YbjCgi13p pic.twitter.com/32Pf0Pq5Bq
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The flooding in Shanxi comes just months after heavy rains wreaked havoc in China’s Henan and Hubei provinces in July, killing at least 350 people and causing extensive property damage.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
