Rescue efforts underway after heavy rain, flooding

Rescue efforts, including evacuations, drainage operations and infrastructure repairs, are underway in parts of Central and Southwest China after continuous rainstorms and extremely heavy rainfall battered the regions.

The severe weather resulted in 11 deaths while several others remain missing in provinces of Guizhou, Hubei and Hunan as of Tuesday evening, authorities said.

From Monday to Tuesday, parts of Guiding county, Guizhou, were hit by flooding and landslides caused by downpours and extreme weather conditions. Preliminary investigations showed that the torrential rain left four people dead and five others missing as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The county's local authorities activated its emergency response mechanism and dispatched rescue teams from multiple departments to carry out search and rescue operations, evacuations, medical treatment, road clearance and communication repairs in the affected areas.

From Sunday to Monday, torrential rain lashed the Youshui River basin in Xuan'en county, Enshi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture, Hubei, leaving three people dead and four others missing, Xinhua quoted the county's flood control and drought relief as saying.

The maximum rainfall in the area reached 292.6 millimeters. The downpours triggered flash floods and caused the river to overflow into the Baishuihe village in the low-lying area.

Starting on Saturday, Hubei has experienced its strongest round of rainfall since the start of this year's flood season. Large areas in western Hubei and the Jianghan Plain have been battered by heavy to torrential rain, with some regions hit by exceptionally intense downpours, local authorities said.

On Monday morning, local meteorological authorities retained an orange alert for rainstorms, while the provincial meteorological service maintained a Level III emergency response for severe convective weather and heavy rainfall.

Hubei cities, including Yichang, Jingzhou, Jingmen and Enshi, have reported urban flooding and residents trapped by rising waters.

Rescue teams across various regions in the province sprang into action in response to the flooding, racing against time to safeguard local residents.

According to the Hubei provincial fire and rescue team, between 6 am on Sunday and 4 pm on Monday, rescue teams drained approximately 19.9 million liters of floodwater and rescued or evacuated 308 residents trapped by the flooding.

Torrential rain also battered Shimen county in Hunan province from Sunday, leaving four person dead and one others missing as of Tuesday evening, China Central Television quoted local authorities as saying. Local authorities said 61,583 residents in the county had been affected by the disaster as of Tuesday evening.

According to Yang Nianguo, director of the county's emergency management bureau, local authorities organized 31 transport vehicles to urgently deliver emergency relief supplies, including 1,000 quilts and 1,400 barrels of cooking oil.

Yang added that 29 emergency repair teams comprising 140 workers had been dispatched to restore key roads, bridges and communication facilities.

The county will next accelerate repairs to damaged infrastructure and farmland while continuing insurance compensation work, supply distribution, epidemic prevention and disinfection efforts to restore normal production and daily life, Yang said.

Zhu Youfang in Changsha contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at huqing@chinadaily.com.cn