Thousands evacuated as floods ravage south, East of China

Hundreds of thousands of people in China have been evacuated in several southern and eastern provinces after unrelenting rains caused floods and triggered landslides.

Two provinces upgraded flood warnings on Tuesday as rivers overflowed and floodwater levels broke a 50-year high.

Videos on state media show cars being washed down streets, and people being rescued by ropes across swollen rivers.

Weather officials say the area is seeing its highest rainfall since 1961.

residents of communities living along river banks and in low-lying neighbourhoods have been urged to move to higher ground.

The city of Shaoguan in Guangdong province has been one of the worst affected, prompting officials to raise its flood alert to the highest level as the city charted record rainfall since late May. A similar alert was put in place for Guangdong’s Qingyuan city.

In the low-lying Pearl River basin, which encircles Guangdong and Guangxi, the rain has disrupted supply chains, manufacturing and shipping already suffering under strict anti-COVID measures.

Meanwhile, in Jiangxi province in the south-east China, authorities raised a flood warning after 485,000 people in nine districts were affected, according to Xinhua news.