Six dead, thousands displaced as floods hit southwestern China

According to state media reports, at least six people have died and more than 80 000 have been evacuated from their homes in Guizhou province, China, as a tropical depression reportedly made landfall.

Since Tuesday, “exceptionally large floods” have been sweeping through Guizhou’s Rongjiang county, according to a report from the state broadcaster CCTV on Thursday.

Guizhou, a province in the southwest of China, was evacuated by the government’s highest-level emergency flood response, which resulted in the evacuation of 80, 900 people.

According to the report, which cited the local flood control headquarters, “Six people have unfortunately lost their lives as of 11am on Thursday.”

The broadcaster claimed that “many low-lying areas in the county were flooded, and some towns’ infrastructure suffered serious damage, leading to traffic obstructions, communications blackouts, and some people being trapped.”

According to the statement, “Post-disaster recovery, reconstruction, and investigation of trapped people are being conducted,” “The county’s water level has now retreated below the warning level.”

A resident claimed they were saved from their home on the third floor after being “submerged under three metres (10 feet) of water” according to a report released by the state news agency Xinhua on Wednesday.

Additionally, images from Xinhua publications showed emergency services carrying out rescue operations. Temporary housing options have been created for those who were displaced.

People were also seen clearing the debris and thick layers of mud that covered the lower sections of some business establishments and other buildings in other parts of Guizhou when the floods have subsided.

According to the nation’s National Meteorological Centre, a tropical depression also made landfall in Hainan on Thursday morning.

The tropical depression will move from the city of Wenchang to the northeast tip of the island, before returning to the South China Sea, making another landfall in southern Guangdong province, and gradually weakening.

The densely populated Guangdong province, as well as Guangxi and Hunan province further inland, will once again be tested by the storm’s flood and spherical defenses.

Extreme weather is common in China this summer.

Beijing, one of its hottest days of the year, received the second-highest heat warning this week from the authorities.