Deadly floods hit northern and western China as 'Plum Rains' prompt red alerts and mass evacuations.

BEIJING, July 3 — Northern and western China braced for further flash floods and landslides on Thursday as the annual “Plum Rains” continued to cause widespread destruction, prompting the deployment of thousands of rescue workers to assist those trapped in floodwaters.

Red alerts were issued as the storm system tracked from Sichuan in the southwest through Gansu in the northwest, and up to Liaoning in the northeast.

Train services to Beijing were suspended, and one of the capital's airports faced flight delays and cancellations from late Wednesday into early Thursday.

Extreme rainfall and flooding—intensified by climate change, according to meteorologists—are posing growing challenges for policymakers. The downpours are testing China’s ageing flood control infrastructure, displacing populations, and threatening the country’s US$2.8 trillion (RM13.9 trillion) agricultural sector.

Last July alone, economic losses from natural disasters exceeded US$10 billion, with “Plum Rains”—named for coinciding with plum ripening along the Yangtze River—typically peaking during this time.

On Wednesday, over 1,000 rescue workers were dispatched to Taiping town in central Henan province after torrential rain caused a river to overflow, resulting in five deaths and three people reported missing.

In Gansu province, two more fatalities occurred when a landslide triggered by heavy rain struck a construction site between Wednesday and Thursday, according to state media.

Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, during a two-day visit to Hebei province bordering Henan, urged local authorities to intensify preventive efforts, including evacuations, ahead of forecasted heavy rainfall, Xinhua news agency reported.

Despite China’s national severe weather monitoring system, scientists note that hyper-local forecasts remain a challenge, particularly in rural areas with limited resources, complicating timely evacuations.

Further south, in Guangxi, several buildings collapsed down hillsides after their foundations weakened due to waterlogged soil, local media reported.

Verified footage shared by Reuters shows a five-storey building under construction in Xinzhou crumbling into a river within seconds as the ground gave way beneath it.

Between June 30 and July 1, Xinzhou’s Lengshui River experienced its worst flooding since records began in 2005, according to the Ministry of Water Resources. Authorities also issued public advisories on how to detect early signs of flash floods.

In Pingliu Village, about 80km from Xinzhou, a landslide on Tuesday led to the evacuation of 21 residents from seven households after two homes collapsed and four others were damaged, local reports said.

Meanwhile, while southern regions face floods, China's eastern coast is preparing for a stretch of extreme heat, according to the national meteorological centre. — Reuters