China: Nearly 40,000 people evacuated amid heavy rains in Guangdong

A total of 37,601 residents living in high-risk areas have been relocated after heavy rains lashed many parts of south China's Guangdong Province over the past days, local authorities said according to a report by Xinhua.

A total of 37,601 residents living in high-risk areas have been relocated after heavy rains lashed many parts of south China's Guangdong Province over the past few days, local authorities said, according to a report by Xinhua. According to Xinhua, a Level III flood control emergency response and a Level IV disaster relief emergency response have been issued and maintained in the province as of Wednesday.

Several cities, including Zhuhai and Shenzhen, have issued notices suspending school classes. It further mentioned that train operation schedules have been adjusted by the China Railway Guangzhou Group to avoid safety risks caused by the rainfall.

As per Xinhua, the Guangdong Fire and Rescue Corps has deployed 247 firefighters, 53 fire trucks and 37 boats in key cities on standby since last Friday. Meanwhile, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Water Resources has dispatched 41,768 patrols for dykes and reservoirs.

Due to the heavy sustained rains, the administration has deployed 7,226 emergency maintenance personnel, 2,994 support vehicles and 2,108 generators for disaster relief. No casualties have been reported, according to the provincial emergency management department.

According to Xinhua, the provincial meteorological observatory forecast that heavy-to-torrential rain, as well as local extreme downpours, will continue to hit southern Guangdong from Wednesday to Thursday. It mentioned that precipitation will generally weaken across the province from Friday to Saturday. According to the G20 Climate Risk Atlas, climate change is already having devastating effects in China.

It reported how science shows that China will experience devastating climate impacts if it follows a high-emissions pathway. "Without urgent action to reduce emissions, heatwaves in China will last 1,563% longer and heat-related excess deaths will increase by 92%. The combination of extreme weather and flooding will cause chaos for China's people and economy: over 25 million people in China would face river flooding by 2050. River flooding will cost China EUR414 billion by 2100," the G20 climate risk atlas said.

It further noted that the faster China adopts low-carbon policies, the less the climate impacts cascade and the more manageable they become. "Limiting temperature rise to 2°C will see the cost of climate impacts in China drop from 6.33% of its GDP in 2100 under a high emissions scenario to 2%," the G20 climate risk atlas observed. (ANI)