Overview

• State media reported at least nine deaths and eight people missing in Henan, Hubei and Guizhou provinces after sudden torrential rains triggered widespread flooding.
• Emergency authorities evacuated more than 80,000 residents from southern and central provinces, including over 40,000 in Guizhou’s Rongjiang district, as water levels surpassed historical norms.
• Local emergency response centres launched full-scale search-and-rescue missions in hard-hit towns such as Taiping and Erlangping to free residents trapped by rising waters.
• Rivers overtopped aging dikes and poured into city streets, housing complexes and shopping malls, exposing vulnerabilities in flood-control infrastructure amid rapid urban expansion.
• The national weather bureau has issued fresh warnings of intense downpours across northern and northeastern regions this week, raising the risk of further floods and landslides.