China Grapples With Deadly Floods: Over 100 Dead & Missing

Xinhua

Sichuan, China: A flash flood and landslide in Kangding, Sichuan Province China over the weekend killed at least eight people and destroyed a motorway bridge and several houses, stated local authorities.

Earlier in July, a 40-meter section of a bridge in Shaanxi province was washed away by a flash flood, resulting in 38 fatalities and 24 missing persons.

In another tragic event, 14 people were killed and 25 remain missing following a flash flood in a village in Sichuan.

China is in the middle of its peak flood season, which runs from mid-July to mid-August, and Chinese policymakers have repeatedly warned that the government needs to step up disaster preparations as severe weather becomes more common.

Hunan province has reported 48 deaths and 35 missing due to extensive flooding. Overall, recent floods across China have claimed 108 lives and left at least 103 people missing.