China: Heavy rains cause a roadway in the southern province of Guangdong to collapse, leaving 19 people dead
Beijing: Local authorities said that a highway stretch in southern China collapsed early on Wednesday due to heavy rains that had recently fallen in the region, killing at least 19 people. A 17.9-meter-long portion of the roadway crumbled, sending up to eighteen automobiles to tumble down a hill, according to a statement from Meizhou city’s officials in Guangdong province.
After passing the area of the road immediately before it collapsed, witnesses told local media they heard a huge bang and saw a hole open up several meters wide behind them. Highway rails were slanting downhill into the flames, and the spectacle was depicted in local media pictures and videos. Moreover, blackened automobiles were seen on the highway’s incline.
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This followed images released by Chinese state media on Sunday that showed extensive damage in a section of Guangzhou, a city in southern China, after a tornado that had passed through the area the day before, killing five people, wounding many more, and destroying over 140 structures. Images from the hardest-hit regions showed block after block of devastation, with a few clusters of buildings remaining among the ruins, a truck tipped on its side, and automobiles crushed by rubble, while businesses and locals started clearing up debris. Some buildings had their sheet metal roofs taken off.
Along with injuring 33 people, the Saturday tornado also caused power outages in the vicinity. Authorities said that the tornado, which occurred during a rainstorm that produced hail in the afternoon, caused damage to 141 industry buildings. Although a news website run by the Southern Media Group said that several residences had damaged windows, they insisted that no homes had been demolished.
Several communities in Guangzhou’s Baiyun district were affected by the storm. According to a story on the Southern Media website, packaging material known as “pearl cotton” was hanged from trees and buildings in one. According to the news website, it tore off the metal roof of a neighboring furniture firm, forcing its employees to seek safety in a private residence. The company’s complex was hit by the blast. On Sunday, workers began rolling up the trash to be hauled off for disposal. After severe rains pounded China’s southeast, prompting large evacuations and landslides in the aftermath of relentless storms brought on by the remnants of Typhoon Haikui, a strong tornado struck Jiangsu last year, killing ten people.
Over the previous six days, severe rainstorms swept throughout southern China, killing many people in cities around waterways. Among the hardest-hit locations by the persistent, deluge-producing rains that started late last week are the two cities in Guangdong province. Floods also pounded the province of Jiangxi, which is nearby. 459 people had been evacuated, according to CCTV, which cited the Jiangxi Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. In the province, 1,500 hectares of crops have been impacted by rain and flooding, resulting in losses exceeding 41 million yuan ($5.7 million).
A stronger-than-usual subtropical high, a semi-permanent high-pressure system revolving north of the equator, was the source of the violent convective weather that was seen in southern China. According to Chinese meteorologists, the subtropical high caused higher temperatures that attracted more moisture-laden air from the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea, which resulted in heavy precipitation.
