Latest news with #TyphoonWipha
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Four dead and eight missing after torrential rain causes landslide in northern China
Four people died and eight were missing after a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall struck Luanping in northern China's Hebei province, CCTV reported on Monday. Rescue efforts were underway, the state broadcaster said. The landslide followed an intense overnight downpour in Fuping, a county in the industrial city of Baoding, where rainfall reached a record 145mm per hour. Torrential rainfall intensified across Beijing and surrounding provinces in northern China on Monday, heightening the threat of floods and landslides and prompting the evacuation of over 4,400 residents, authorities said. Last week, Typhoon Wipha wreaked havoc across China, killing dozens of people, uprooting trees, causing landslides, and leaving thousands without power. Wipha battered cities such as Yangjiang, Zhanjiang and Maoming with winds of over 118kmph and torrential rain before making landfall in southern Guangdong province last Sunday. In Beijing's Miyun district, relentless downpours triggered flash floods, impacting several villages, CCTV said on Monday. Images shared on China's WeChat platform showed vehicles drifting along submerged roads, with floodwaters rising high enough to partially engulf residential buildings. Hebei is facing some of its heaviest and most devastating rainfall in recent years, setting off deadly landslides, flash floods, and large-scale evacuations. Relentless rains began sweeping through Hebei, Tianjin, and Shanxi in northern China in early July, triggering widespread flood warnings. But it is the latter half of the month that has seen the worst of the deluge. Power outages have impacted over 10,000 residents in the region, according to CCTV. Northern China in general has faced unprecedented rainfall in recent years, placing densely populated areas like Beijing at heightened risk of flooding. Some researchers attribute this surge in rainfall, especially in the typically arid north, to the effects of global warming. The recent storms form part of a broader pattern of extreme weather events linked to the East Asian monsoon, which continues to disrupt daily life and economic activity across the world's second-largest economy. Among the hardest hit areas from the latest rainfall was Xiwanzi Village in Shicheng town, near the Miyun reservoir, where authorities relocated more than 100 villagers to a local primary school for shelter, authorities said on Monday. Authorities in Beijing reported the Miyun reservoir had reached an unprecedented inflow peak of 6,550 cubic metres per second, the highest on record. Meanwhile, the neighbouring province of Shanxi experienced severe flooding, with state media footage showing powerful torrents sweeping across roads and submerging fields, trees and crops. In Beijing's Pinggu district, two sections of a road deemed high-risk were closed off as a precaution. Emergency crews have been deployed in several cities for rescue operations, including in Datong, where contact was lost with a motorist caught in the floods while driving a Ford, according to the People's Daily. China's water resources ministry has issued targeted flood alerts for 11 provinces and regions, among them Beijing and Hebei, warning of the potential for flash floods from smaller rivers and mountainous runoff. In response to the crisis, authorities have announced an emergency relief fund to assist Hebei with infrastructure repairs. The money will go towards rebuilding damaged roads, bridges, embankments, and public facilities like schools and hospitals. In July last year, China's seasonal 'plum rains' – so named for their timing with the ripening of plums – inflicted over $10bn in economic damage.
The Independent
a day ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Four dead and eight missing after torrential rain causes landslide in northern China
Four people died and eight were missing after a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall struck Luanping in northern China 's Hebei province, CCTV reported on Monday. Rescue efforts were underway, the state broadcaster said. The landslide followed an intense overnight downpour in Fuping, a county in the industrial city of Baoding, where rainfall reached a record 145mm per hour. Torrential rainfall intensified across Beijing and surrounding provinces in northern China on Monday, heightening the threat of floods and landslides and prompting the evacuation of over 4,400 residents, authorities said. Last week, Typhoon Wipha wreaked havoc across China, killing dozens of people, uprooting trees, causing landslides, and leaving thousands without power. Wipha battered cities such as Yangjiang, Zhanjiang and Maoming with winds of over 118kmph and torrential rain before making landfall in southern Guangdong province last Sunday. In Beijing 's Miyun district, relentless downpours triggered flash floods, impacting several villages, CCTV said on Monday. Images shared on China 's WeChat platform showed vehicles drifting along submerged roads, with floodwaters rising high enough to partially engulf residential buildings. Hebei is facing some of its heaviest and most devastating rainfall in recent years, setting off deadly landslides, flash floods, and large-scale evacuations. Relentless rains began sweeping through Hebei, Tianjin, and Shanxi in northern China in early July, triggering widespread flood warnings. But it is the latter half of the month that has seen the worst of the deluge. Power outages have impacted over 10,000 residents in the region, according to CCTV. Northern China in general has faced unprecedented rainfall in recent years, placing densely populated areas like Beijing at heightened risk of flooding. Some researchers attribute this surge in rainfall, especially in the typically arid north, to the effects of global warming. The recent storms form part of a broader pattern of extreme weather events linked to the East Asian monsoon, which continues to disrupt daily life and economic activity across the world's second-largest economy. Among the hardest hit areas from the latest rainfall was Xiwanzi Village in Shicheng town, near the Miyun reservoir, where authorities relocated more than 100 villagers to a local primary school for shelter, authorities said on Monday. Authorities in Beijing reported the Miyun reservoir had reached an unprecedented inflow peak of 6,550 cubic metres per second, the highest on record. Meanwhile, the neighbouring province of Shanxi experienced severe flooding, with state media footage showing powerful torrents sweeping across roads and submerging fields, trees and crops. In Beijing 's Pinggu district, two sections of a road deemed high-risk were closed off as a precaution. Emergency crews have been deployed in several cities for rescue operations, including in Datong, where contact was lost with a motorist caught in the floods while driving a Ford, according to the People's Daily. China's water resources ministry has issued targeted flood alerts for 11 provinces and regions, among them Beijing and Hebei, warning of the potential for flash floods from smaller rivers and mountainous runoff. In response to the crisis, authorities have announced an emergency relief fund to assist Hebei with infrastructure repairs. The money will go towards rebuilding damaged roads, bridges, embankments, and public facilities like schools and hospitals. In July last year, China's seasonal 'plum rains' – so named for their timing with the ripening of plums – inflicted over $10bn in economic damage.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Why did a Hong Kong government aircrew risk chasing after Typhoon Wipha?
Hong Kong was able to collect critical information on Typhoon Wipha thanks to a three-strong government aircrew that flew close to the tropical cyclone's centre to deploy seven meteorological data detectors, despite the adverse weather and communication troubles. Just a day before Wipha hit Hong Kong and triggered a seven-hour No 10 hurricane signal, the Government Flying Service crew steered a Challenger 605 plane to approach the typhoon on Saturday afternoon. Their mission: to deploy dropsondes, cylindrical weather devices packed with sensors, and equipped with parachutes, to collect data on the typhoon's wind speed, wind direction, air pressure and humidity on behalf of the Hong Kong Observatory. The wind speed at the centre of the typhoon was around 110km/h (68mph) at the time. 'Dropsondes are the most important parts of the mission,' said Jeffrey Chan Kin-hang, an assistant manager for flight safety with the service who acted as the mission's air crewman officer. 'If they do not work properly, the whole mission will fail.'
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
How the humble Good Morning towel became a symbol of hard-working people in Asia
It is early on a Saturday morning and a wet market in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay neighbourhood is heaving with people stocking up on produce before Typhoon Wipha hits later that day. At one stall, a fishmonger fillets a fish on a chopping block. A red bucket hangs on the wall next to him, while styrofoam boxes are scattered throughout the market. Hidden among the stalls is another market 'staple' – the Good Morning towel, a piece of white cotton emblazoned with 'Good Morning' in bright red cursive and its equivalent translation in Chinese (zhu jun zao an). While 'Good Morning' is the most common phrase, others such as 'Good Fortune' and 'Very Healthy' adorn some towels in the same distinctive red font. 'I have many of these towels,' says the fishmonger, slightly perplexed as to why someone is asking about an old rag. A Good Morning towel is seen hanging at a fishmonger's stall at a wet market in Causeway Bay. Photo: Kylie Knott Those living in Hong Kong are likely to have a few lurking in a cupboard. Walk around the city and you will see them draped over buckets or dangling from minibus' mirrors. Pop the boot of a taxi and a few might stare back with their cheery greeting.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Typhoon Wipha batters Hong Kong sunflower farm, leaving owner, 73, with 6-figure losses
A huge farm in northern Hong Kong was submerged in around three hours during Typhoon Wipha, causing about 70,000 sunflowers to wilt and leaving a 73-year-old farmer with six-figure losses. Leung Yat-shun, a farmer at Shun Sum Yuen farm in San Tin, said on Saturday that he and three colleagues had spent about 10 weeks to grow tens of thousands of sunflowers to shoulder height, but their efforts were in vain within hours of Typhoon Wipha hitting the city last weekend. 'During the typhoon, the flood rose rapidly, reaching chest level in around three hours. The water was so rapid that I could not enter the farms and could only watch [the sunflowers flood],' he said. Leung said the farm had suffered six-figure Hong Kong dollar losses, but it was difficult to calculate the exact amount. The flower farm, near the border with mainland China, makes a large part of Leung's income by charging visitors a fee of HK$50 (US$6.40) to enter and take pictures. But with no natural rivers around the place, the area is marked as a medium flooding black spot by authorities. With the typhoon bringing more than 70mm (2.8 inches) of rainfall at its peak amid the black rain signal and No 10 hurricane warning, both the highest in their categories, the flood brought damage that Leung said he had not seen in years.
