Major rivers, waterways and reservoirs in China’s Guangdong province are expected to unleash dangerous floods, forcing the government to enact emergency response plans on Sunday to protect more than 127 million people.
China’s water resource ministry issued an emergency advisory.
The province, a major exporter and one of China’s main commercial and trading centres, has seen major downpours and strong winds for several days, in a weather pattern affecting other parts of the country.
A 12-hour spell of heavy rain, starting from 8:00pm local time on Saturday, battered the central and northern parts of the province, including the cities of Zhaoqing, Shaoguan, Qingyuan and Jiangmen, where rescue workers have been dispatched.
According to state media, more than 45,000 people were evacuated in Qingyuan and some power facilities in Zhaoqing were damaged, cutting power to some places.
State-backed media outlets said that in Guangdong, 1.16 million households overall lost power due to the heavy rains.
Meanwhile, Chinese state radio said that around 1,103 schools in Zhaoqing, Shaoguan and Qingyuan will suspend classes on Monday.
