15 dead after heavy rain, floods in China coal region

At least 15 people have died during unseasonably heavy rain and flooding in north China’s Shanxi province earlier this month, local officials said yesterday, after the normally dry region received three months’ rain in one week.

The flooding hit the coal-rich landlocked region during a nationwide energy crunch, and after record floods killed more than 300 people in central Henan province in July.

Wang said around 19,000 buildings were destroyed by the extreme weather, with 18,000 others “seriously damaged”.

At least 1.75 million residents across the province have been affected by the floods, with 120,000 safely evacuated, according to Wang.

Photos published yesterday by local state newspaper Shanxi Evening News showed traffic police carrying schoolchildren on their backs while wading through waist-deep water after multiple vehicles got trapped.

Several regions across China have been hit by unprecedented flooding this year.

AFP