Northern and western China are on high alert as torrential rains threaten to bring more flash flooding and landslides. Red alerts were in force on Thursday as rains made their way to Gansu province in the northwest and then up to Liaoning province in the northeast.
The weather warnings came as more than 1,000 rescue workers were sent on Wednesday to Taiping, a town in the central Henan province, where five people died and three were declared missing after a river burst its banks.
According to state media, two people were killed by a landslide at a construction site in Gansu after heavy rain on Wednesday and Thursday. A record summer downpour hit the city of Xianfeng in China’s central province of Hubei, bringing more than a month’s rain in just 12 hours, with local videos showing torrents washing away cars. Workers clean-up post-flood China Workers clean up mud after floodwater subsided in Liuzhou, in China’s southwest Guangxi region on June 25, 2025.
During a two-day trip to the northern province of Hebei, China’s Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing urged local officials to ramp up the scale of evacuations. “Accurately forecasting the intensity and exact location of heavy rain remains challenging, especially with climate change and the complex terrain of rural areas,” Meng Gao, a climate modelling specialist at Hong Kong Baptist University, told the Reuters news agency earlier this week.
The challenges in predicting heavy rain and flash flooding are particularly significant in rural areas, where forecasting capabilities are often limited. Last July, the “plum rains”, which coincide with the plum-ripening season, caused more than $10bn in economic losses in China.
In response to the severe weather, authorities evacuated 18,000 people, closed schools, and suspended bus services in the affected areas. The nationwide system to forecast and monitor severe weather is in place, but scientists say it is hard to make localized predictions.
Zhang Guoqing’s visit to Hebei province underscores the government’s efforts to respond to the disaster. The vice premier’s call for increased evacuations reflects the severity of the situation and the need for swift action to protect lives and property.
The heavy rains and flash flooding have had a significant impact on the region, with multiple provinces affected. The economic losses are likely to be substantial, given the damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and property.
In recent years, China has experienced several severe weather-related disasters, highlighting the need for effective disaster preparedness and response measures. The government’s efforts to improve forecasting and monitoring capabilities, as well as evacuation and response procedures, are crucial in mitigating the impact of such events.