15 people were killed and four others are missing after heavy rains fell in southwestern China, according to the official Chinese news agency, today.
The official “Xinhua” (New China) news agency quoted the local authorities as saying that the recent heavy rains “have claimed the lives of 15 people since Monday, while four others are considered missing in the Chongqing region in northwest China until today.”
Confirmation of the deaths came after the Meteorological Department declared, yesterday, the state of alert, expecting possible disasters caused by heavy rains in large areas of central and southeastern China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered that “authorities at all levels give priority to ensuring the safety of residents and protecting their property.”
Xinhua said Xi “stressed the need for officials at all levels to take the initiative to combat floods and mitigate losses.”
In an indication of the extent of the losses, a railway bridge partially collapsed yesterday, due to rain in Chongqing, which has a population of 31 million, according to the agency.
In the neighboring province of Sichuan, more than 460,000 people were affected, to varying degrees, by the torrential rains, according to what the agency reported yesterday.
The authorities indicated that about 85,000 people had been evacuated from their homes due to the rain, with the expectation of “sudden floods in mountainous areas” and “torrential rains in some areas” during the current week.
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2023-07-05 07:54:54
