Amid record-breaking floods in China, premier calls for stepped up disaster control and relief

Executive meeting of the State Council told more extreme weather predicted and everything must be done to ensure ‘safety of people’s lives and property’

In Yingde, Guangdong province, more than 400,000 people are affected by the largest floods on record and 30,000 have been safely relocated

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Rescue workers evacuate a child from a flooded building after heavy rainfall in Xinli village of Shaoguan in Guangdong province on Tuesday. Photo: cnsphoto via Reuters

Published: 2:16pm, 23 Jun 2022Updated: 7:09pm, 23 Jun 2022

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called for authorities nationwide to step up flood control and disaster relief efforts as severe flooding in the southern part of the country affects hundreds of thousands of people.

An executive meeting of the State Council that Li chaired on Wednesday was told there would be more extreme weather to come during this year’s flood season, which is typically July and August in China.

“We should deploy the party Central Committee and the State Council to strengthen responsibilities, improve the linkage mechanism of early warning and emergency response, continue to do a good job in flood control and disaster relief and ensure the safety of people’s lives and property,” Li said at the meeting, according to Xinhua.

Scientists have warned that climate change will result in more extreme weather events, from more intense floods to droughts and heatwaves.

Every 1 degree Celsius rise in global warming is projected to lead to a 7 per cent increase in the intensity of extreme daily precipitation events worldwide, according to a “high confidence” projection by experts from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year.

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Mass evacuations as record rainfall and floods batter southern China

Flooding in central China’s Henan province last year claimed more than 300 lives, displaced nearly 1 million people, and led to direct economic losses estimated at 133.7 billion yuan (US$20 billion), according to the provincial government.

Amid record-breaking floods in China, premier calls for stepped up disaster control and relief

Executive meeting of the State Council told more extreme weather predicted and everything must be done to ensure ‘safety of people’s lives and property’ In Yingde, Guangdong province, more than 400,000 people are affected by the largest floods on record and 30,000 have been safely relocated

Executive meeting of the State Council told more extreme weather predicted and everything must be done to ensure ‘safety of people’s lives and property’

In Yingde, Guangdong province, more than 400,000 people are affected by the largest floods on record and 30,000 have been safely relocated