At least 10 people have died after heavy rain triggered widespread flooding and landslides in southern and central China. The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) maintained an orange warning for heavy rain and severe weather on Tuesday, warning that the heavy rain system had entered its strongest and most dangerous phase.
China's National Flood and Drought Control Headquarters formally activated a Level IV emergency response, the lowest national disaster relief level for floods, in Hunan and Guangxi, while maintaining a similar emergency response for Hubei, Chongqing and Guizhou.
The downpours have broken multiple local historical records, especially in the central province of Hubei. State broadcaster CCTV reported that 337 towns in Hubei recorded rainfall of more than 100 mm within 48 hours.
In Guangxi, six people died when a pickup truck carrying 15 passengers plunged into a river swollen by heavy rain, according to CCTV. In Hubei, three people were killed by a flash flood in a low-lying village, while another death was recorded in the southern province of Hunan.
Footage on Chinese social media platform Douyin showed residents in Jingzhou, Hubei, standing knee-deep in floodwater, with some catching fish swimming on flooded streets. Many cars were almost completely submerged.
Authorities have suspended schools, businesses and transport services in affected areas. Emergency response efforts are underway, and residents in parts of Hubei and Hunan are being actively evacuated.
Meteorologists attribute the unusual heavy rain zone to a convergence of moisture from the Bay of Bengal, the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. They said the slow-moving nature of the weather system had exacerbated the accumulated rainfall.
The National Meteorological Center forecasts severe weather will move east and south over the next two days, with the heaviest rainfall expected along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River from Wednesday.
