Shanghai – More than 80,000 people have been displaced by severe flooding in southwest China, state media reported on Wednesday. Dramatic rescue efforts were carried out, including saving a truck driver who was left hanging at the edge of a collapsed bridge.
China is currently battling extreme weather conditions. While parts of the country are suffering from an intense heatwave, other regions are being lashed by heavy storms and flooding.
According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, around 80,900 people were evacuated to safety by Tuesday afternoon in Guizhou province. In Rongjiang County, a football field was reported to be submerged under nearly three meters of water.
Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed entire villages submerged in the mountainous areas of the province, with a bridge collapse causing further chaos. Rescue teams were seen carrying residents on their backs and pushing boats through muddy, knee-deep floodwaters, while children waited at local childcare centers for help.
“The water rose so quickly,” said local resident Long Tian. “I waited on the third floor of my house for rescue and was finally moved to safety by afternoon.”
Drones were also deployed to deliver essential supplies, including rice, to the flood victims.
In a widely shared video clip broadcast by local media, truck driver Yu Guochun described his terrifying experience after being stranded at the edge of the collapsed bridge. “The bridge in front of me just completely fell apart,” he said. “I was really scared.”
The floods have also impacted neighboring Guangxi province, where rescue teams were seen relocating residents to safer areas, as shown in footage released by state media.
Just last week, tens of thousands of people were evacuated from Hunan province in central China due to torrential rains. Around 70,000 people had also been displaced recently in southern China following heavy flooding triggered by Typhoon Wutip.
Chinese authorities had issued this year’s first red alert—the highest in the country’s four-tier weather warning system—for potential mountain floods across six regions last week. Local governments were urged to issue timely warnings, with some areas labeled as “severely affected,” according to Xinhua.
Scientists say climate change, fueled by greenhouse gas emissions, is making such extreme weather events more frequent and intense.
In Beijing, authorities this week issued the second-highest heat alert as the capital experienced its hottest day of the year so far.
Last year was China’s hottest on record, and the past four years have been the warmest in the country’s history. As the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, China is also emerging as a global leader in renewable energy. The country aims to reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2060.
