China on flood alert as heavy rain forces evacuations
- Thousands of residents in Chongqing abandon their homes as rainy season reaches its peak
- Flood prevention crews deployed in the capital Beijing to clear drainage outlets
The downpours hit the northern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia, as well as regions south of the Yangtze River, including the municipality of Chongqing in the southwest and Zhejiang province in the east.
A warning issued on Saturday by China’s official weather forecast website said 11 provincial regions were expecting heavy rainfall.
In landlocked Chongqing, 4,500 people had to be evacuated from their homes in Wanzhou district on the weekend.
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Extreme weather continues to batter China as flooding hits major cities
Earlier this month, more than 40,000 people in neighbouring Sichuan province were evacuated. Similarly, 2,400 people in northeastern Liaoning had been relocated as of Saturday afternoon.
Zhejiang’s flood control, typhoon prevention and drought relief office issued an emergency notice late on Sunday, ordering local staff to take action to prevent deaths and injuries from natural disasters.