Southern China Floods Kill at Least 17, Displace Nearly 300,000

At least 17 people were killed across China’s neighboring provinces of Hunan and Guangxi as of Thursday after severe rainfall caused flooding and landslides that swept away entire villages and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the southern region, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Heavy rainfall began in Hunan province on June 1 and continued unabated through June 9. The storms have caused record inundations throughout the largely rural, mountainous province over the past week. Hunan authorities reported ten people dead and three others missing due to flooding as of Thursday.

“More than 2,700 houses have been destroyed or severely damaged, and around 286,000 people have been evacuated across the Province [of Hunan],” Xinhua, China’s official state press agency, reported on June 9.

The extreme weather conditions in Hunan have extended to the neighboring region of Guangxi, where flooding caused deadly landslides across multiple rural communities on June 9.

“In Guangxi, rescue crews were still looking Thursday for survivors in several villages in the area of Beiliu city, where days of rain left hillsides waterlogged and prone to slippages,” the AP reported, citing Xinhua. “Seven people were confirmed dead in the landslides, one was missing and at least one person was pulled out alive.”

Hunan provincial official Li Dajian spoke to Xinhua on Thursday about the ongoing natural disaster, revealing that Hunan has received “historic levels” of precipitation since June 1.

“Heavy rains have caused the water levels of rivers and lakes to rise significantly,” Li said in a statement to the press agency.

“The whole province at all levels is responding actively and making every effort to prevent (disasters),” he assured.

About 1.79 million residents across Hunan have been “affected” by the week-long deluge, Li stated, without elaborating. Hunan has a population of about 67 million.

Xinhua reported on June 9 that Hunan government authorities were providing “tents, foldable beds, food and clothing” for displaced people across the province.

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, who serves as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, indirectly addressed the ongoing floods in Hunan and Guanxi on June 8 while visiting the nearby province of Sichuan for an official Communist Party “inspection” of its economic development.

“Speaking of recent floods and geological disasters in some parts of China, Xi called for early contingency preparations to safeguard people’s lives and property. He also demanded swift rescue efforts after disasters to minimize casualties and loss of property,” Xinhua reported.

“Floods are fairly common in central and southern China, where the humid summer often brings heavy rains,” Agence France-Presse noted on June 9.

The central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, in Henan province, made international headlines last summer after it received the most severe rainfall during China’s worst flooding in a decade. Hundreds of Zhengzhou commuters became trapped inside flooded subway cars on July 20, 2021. Harrowing eyewitness video footage captured the accident, which ultimately killed at least 14 people. The flash flood that caused the subway tragedy additionally killed roughly 300 residents of Zhengzhou within a single 24-hour period.