The heavy rains that have fallen in Hunan province, in the centre of China, have affected more than 1.2 million inhabitants since last Thursday, when Typhoon Gaemi hit the Asian country.
Local authorities reported today that the area of crops damaged by Gaemi totalled 127,000 hectares and that a total of 96,500 people have been evacuated to safety.
The provincial air emergency centre sent four helicopters to take part in rescue operations in the city of Zixing, one of the areas worst affected by the rains, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
In Zixing, at least four people died last weekend and three are still missing as a result of the heavy rains.
Between last Friday and Monday, Zixing recorded an average rainfall of 410 millimeters, reaching a maximum of 673.6 millimeters in some areas and registering a maximum intensity of 132.2 millimeters per hour.
In the town of Yuelin, also in Hunan, 15 people died last weekend in a landslide caused by heavy rain.
Currently, the province, which has around 66 million inhabitants, maintains a level II emergency response for floods and level III for geological disasters.
Since mid-June, Hunan has seen the heaviest rainfall of the year, with local historical records in some regions.
Since mid-June, Hunan has seen the heaviest rainfall of the year, with local historical records in some regions.
In recent summers, meteorological disasters have wreaked havoc in the Asian country: the summer months of 2023 were marked by floods in Beijing that caused more than 30 deaths, while in 2022 several extreme heatwaves and droughts hit the centre and east of the country.
In July 2021, rains of an intensity not seen for decades caused nearly 400 deaths in Henan province, in the centre of the country, which the Chinese government attributed to a "lack of preparation and risk perception" on the part of the local authorities.
