Torrential Rain and Landslides Devastate Hunan Province, China

Torrential rain, compounded by Typhoon Gaemi's remnants, has killed four and displaced thousands in China's Hunan province. Flooding has damaged homes and roads. The Juanshui river overflowed, breaching major dikes. Fifteen were killed in a related landslide. The Chinese government mobilized $918 million for disaster relief.

Torrential rain and flooding in China's southern Hunan province has claimed the lives of four people and forced the evacuation of thousands, Chinese state media reported Tuesday. The weakening Typhoon Gaemi continues to impact the region with prolonged heavy rain, breaching significant dikes and dams and inundating vast farmland areas.

In Zixing county, the extreme weather has affected nearly 90,000 residents, damaging 1,400 homes and causing the collapse of approximately 1,300 roads, according to the People's Daily website. Several villages have been left without power. Meteorologists explain that a combination of typhoon remnants and a southwest monsoon created the conditions for this severe weather, as reported by Beijing News.

Over the past two days, rainfall has caused the Juanshui river to surge, breaching three dikes, Xinhua news agency noted, with one dike successfully sealed on Monday. The river, a major tributary of the Yangtze, experienced record flooding in areas. On Sunday, a rain-triggered landslide claimed 15 lives in Hunan, according to state media. With warnings issued across multiple affected provinces, China's government convened last week to discuss flood mitigation strategies and has since allocated at least 6.67 billion yuan ($918 million) for emergency disaster relief, Reuters calculates.

(With inputs from agencies.)