BEIJING (AP) — China is being hit by two extreme weather events, with heavy rains and flooding in parts of the south and a heat wave and potential drought in the north.
The body of a student who fell into a swollen river in the southern city of Guilin was found two days later on Saturday, state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report. Elsewhere in the Guangxi region, heavy rains have flooded homes in some villages. 137 people were evacuated on Sunday morning, CCTV reported.
In the east, parts of Fujian province were hit by landslides and flooding. Excavators were used on Sunday to clear mud in Songxi province after a landslide trapped a truck. Videos posted online by the Quanzhou city government show vehicles engulfed in muddy floodwaters in one part of the city.
The Chinese government has repeatedly called for intensifying disaster prevention and preparedness in anticipation of more severe weather events due to climate change. Heavy rain and hail storms killed seven people in China’s eastern Jiangxi province earlier this year.
Much of northern China, including the capital Beijing, has experienced high temperatures over the past week. The National Meteorological Center has issued a heat warning, predicting highs of around 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday in parts of Beijing and nearby areas and in the Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia regions in the west.
Warm weather was also reported in Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by China off its east coast. The temperature reached 36.6 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday in a township in Taitung province, the island’s Central News Agency reported, citing the government weather agency.
A lack of rainfall in northern China has raised concerns about agricultural production this year.
A Chinese Vice Premier, Liu Guozhong, on Saturday called for efforts to prevent drought during an inspection tour of Hebei province, which borders Beijing.
He said water resources should be allocated scientifically and water conservation for agriculture should be strengthened, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. He also called for help to help farmers plant drought-resistant crops to strengthen the foundation for the fall grain harvest.
