At least 21 people have died as torrential rains continue to batter southern and central China, causing severe flooding, transport disruptions, and widespread damage across multiple provinces, authorities said on Tuesday.
Heavy rainfall has affected regions including Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan, where weather officials warned of an increased risk of landslides, flash floods, and urban waterlogging.
China’s weather agency said the extreme rainfall is expected to continue moving east and south over the coming days, with the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River likely to experience the heaviest downpours from Wednesday onward.
According to state media, ten people were killed in Guangxi when a pickup truck carrying 15 farm workers fell into a flooded river amid severe rainfall.
In separate incidents, four deaths were reported in Guizhou province, four in Hunan, and three in a village in Hubei province, highlighting the widespread impact of the disaster.
Authorities have allocated 150 million yuan (approximately $22 million) for emergency relief and have activated response measures in several affected regions to assist recovery efforts.
Officials said the unusually broad weather system, stretching over 1,000 kilometres, was driven by moisture convergence from the Bay of Bengal, the South China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean.
The National Meteorological Centre warned that hazardous weather conditions would persist, raising concerns about further flooding, infrastructure damage, and displacement in vulnerable areas.
