China issued a red warning due to enormous “once in a century” floods

The highest level rainfall warning has been issued for Southern China, where heavy rains are expected to cause rivers to overflow and create major flooding concerns.

Floods occur once per century.
Over 100,000 people have been evacuated due to the imminent danger of catastrophic floods, which official media sources suggest may only occur “once in a century.”

Shenzhen, a megacity, was among the places hit by “heavy to very heavy downpours” on Tuesday. The meteorological observatory in Shenzhen issued a warning, stating that there was a “very high” danger of flash flooding.

On Tuesday, April 23, Shenzhen authorities issued a red alert, warning citizens to “please quickly take precautions and stay away from dangerous areas such as low-lying areas prone to flooding.”

“Pay attention to heavy rains and resulting disasters such as water logging, flash floods, landslides, mudslides, and ground caving in,” said the message.

More than 45,000 people have been evacuated from Qingyuan, which is close to a tributary of the Bei River, according to reports from state media.

Since the rains began over the weekend, 110,000 people have been moved around Guangdong, according to official news agency Xinhua.

Death toll
Ten people are still unaccounted for and four have reportedly killed as a result of the rains, according to an AFP report.

China has seen extreme droughts, heat waves, and floods in recent years. Experts claim that human-emitted greenhouse gases—of which China is the largest contributor—are what cause the extreme weather occurrences.

The country just saw the worst September rainfall since records were kept in 1952. Hong Kong, a neighboring semi-autonomous city, also reported the most rainfall it has seen in over 140 years.

Asia was the area most affected by weather and climate-related disasters in 2023, according to a new United Nations research.