BEIJING โ At least 15 people have died from flooding in southwestern China as seasonal torrents batter mountainous areas, authorities said Wednesday.
Four other people were reported missing by mid-morning in Chongqing, a vast mountainous region of 31 million people, almost all of which has now been designated as flood risk, according to the local government website.
The Chongqing floods appear to be the deadliest in China amid floods in other parts of the country. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated. In just one southwestern province, Sichuan, more than 85,000 people have been evacuated due to flooding, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Chongqing's flood warning has been upgraded from level four to level three, reflecting the increasing severity of the crisis.
Rescue teams on inflatable boats transported villagers to safety and workers cleared roads blocked by mudslides, according to photos posted on the government website.
Seasonal floods hit much of China each year, particularly in the semitropical south. However, some northern regions have reported the worst flooding in 50 years this year.
In 2021, more than 300 people died in the central province of Henan. Record rains inundated the provincial capital of Zhengzhou on July 20 of that year, turning streets into raging rivers and inundating at least part of one subway line.
China's deadliest and most destructive floods in recent history occurred in 1998, when 4,150 people died, most of them along the Yangtze River.
Meanwhile, much of China, including Beijing, is sweltering under heat waves that have come before and have lasted for more consecutive days than in decades. Temperatures in the capital are forecast to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Thursday.
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