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Climate Adaptation

China’s Worsening Floods Highlight Extreme Weather Threat

  • More than 12 million people affected by torrential rains
  • This year’s precipitation double-to-triple usual levels
People view water gushing out of Sanmenxia Dam in Sanmenxia city, central China’s Henan province on June 30.

People view water gushing out of Sanmenxia Dam in Sanmenxia city, central China’s Henan province on June 30.

Photographer: Niu Penglei/Imaginechina via AP Images

Bloomberg News
Updated on

Weeks of torrential rain in southern China have left millions of people without homes and caused billions of yuan in economic losses, with environmental groups warning the extreme floods are likely to become more common.

By late June, more than 12 million people across 13 provinces had been affected, according to China’s Ministry of Emergency Management. The floods have killed 78 people, damaged 97,000 homes and caused 25 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) in economic losses, it said.