Parts of China battered by opposite weather extremes
Beijing — China is being buffeted by two weather extremes, with heavy rain and flooding forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in the south and a heat wave prompting fears of a drought for farmers in the north.
At least one person has died in the flooding. The body of a student who fell into a swollen river in the southern city of Guilin was found two days later on Saturday, state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report. Elsewhere in the Guangxi region, heavy rains flooded homes in some villages.
To the east, landslides and flooding hit parts of Fujian province, and 36,000 people have been moved, according to state media. One landslide trapped a truck in Songxi county, and videos posted online by the Quanzhou government showed vehicles inundated with muddy flood waters in a part of the historic city.
The Chinese government has issued repeated calls to step up disaster prevention and preparedness in anticipation of more severe weather events because of climate change. Violent rain and hailstorms killed seven people in eastern China's Jiangxi province earlier this year.
Much of northern China, including the capital, Beijing, has endured high temperatures for the past week. The National Meteorological Center has issued a heat warning, forecasting highs around 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) for Monday in parts of Beijing and nearby areas and in the Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia regions to the west.
Hot weather was also reported in Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by China off its east coast. The temperature reached 36.6 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) in one township in Taitung county on Sunday, the island's Central News Agency reported, citing the government weather agency.
A lack of rainfall in northern China has raised concerns about farm production this year.
A Chinese vice premier, Liu Guozhong, called for drought prevention efforts Saturday on an inspection tour of Hebei province, which borders Beijing.
He said that water resources should be allocated scientifically and the conservation of water for farming should be strengthened, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. He also called for helping farmers plant drought-resistant crops to firm up the foundation for the autumn grain harvest.