China floods: rescuers search for 16 missing in Xian while northeast braces for more rain in wake of typhoons

Flooding and mudslides kill two and leave more than a dozen missing as destruction from storms spreads to northwestern city
Beijing fights to reduce impact on farmers and rolls out support for agriculture amid food security push

Accidents, extreme weather and disasters in China

Mandy Zuoin Shanghai

Published: 6:03pm, 12 Aug 2023

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China has sent an emergency team to the northwestern city of Xian, where two people were killed and over a dozen remain missing because of floods and mudslides.

Rescuers from the Ministry of Emergency Management, together with local emergency workers, are searching for 16 missing residents of a mountain village in Xian after hours of downpours late on Friday, state media reported.

Two people have been confirmed dead as floods and mudslides washed away two houses and damaged roads, bridges and power supply facilities, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The casualties followed historically heavy rain brought by the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri in parts of China’s grain-producing northeast as well as Beijing and Hebei province in the north, where dozens of people died, dozens more went missing and large areas of cropland were damaged.

Vice-premier Liu Guozhong toured Beijing and neighbouring Hebei on Friday to call for efforts to reduce the impact on agriculture as China continues its push for food security, according to state news agency Xinhua.

He ordered local officials and farmers to prevent post-disaster disease outbreaks and ensure there would still be a bumper harvest.

Fighting disasters and reducing their impact has been at the top of the agenda for agricultural officials in recent months to ensure grain production as more climate shocks are expected.

The northeastern provinces are expected to be pelted by another round of heavy rain as a result of Typhoon Lan and the aftermath of Typhoon Khanun, the Ministry of Agriculture said on its website on Friday.

Dalian, one of the biggest cities in northeast China, issued a yellow alert for torrential rain and flooding on Saturday.

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Northeast China evacuates over 1,200 residents as Typhoon Khanun threatens the region

Authorities have also stepped up financial support for those in need as the number of areas affected increased in recent weeks.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has vowed to strengthen credit support for key groups such as small companies, agricultural companies and rural households in disaster-hit areas, Xinhua reported.

Similar policies have been rolled out by the other major state-owned banks, according to the report.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Emergency Management issued an extra 1.46 billion yuan (US$202 million) in flood control funds on Friday, increasing the total amount to 7.74 billion yuan this year.

China has seen frequent extreme weather events this year as the El Nino climate pattern drives heatwaves, droughts and floods in many parts of the globe.

Seven tourists at a dam in Yaan in the southwestern province of Sichuan died after sudden floods carried them away on Wednesday, local authorities said.

Local media reported that heavy rain hit upstream the night before, and an official investigation is under way.

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