Guangdong [China], June 18 (HBTV): A total of 37,601 residents living in high-risk areas have been relocated after heavy rains lashed several parts of south China's Guangdong Province over the past few days, local authorities said.
According to Xinhua, a Level III flood control emergency response and a Level IV disaster relief emergency response remain in effect across the province as of Wednesday.
Several cities, including Zhuhai and Shenzhen, have suspended school classes due to the adverse weather conditions.
Train operations have also been adjusted by the China Railway Guangzhou Group to minimise safety risks associated with the heavy rainfall.
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 patrol teams to monitor dykes and reservoirs.
To support disaster relief efforts, authorities have mobilised 7,226 emergency maintenance personnel, 2,994 support vehicles and 2,108 generators across affected areas.
No casualties have been reported so far, according to the provincial emergency management department.
The provincial meteorological observatory has forecast that heavy-to-torrential rainfall, along with localised extreme downpours, will continue to affect southern Guangdong from Wednesday to Thursday. Rainfall intensity is expected to weaken across the province from Friday to Saturday.
According to the G20 Climate Risk Atlas, climate change is already having significant impacts on China and could lead to increasingly severe consequences under a high-emissions scenario.
The report stated, '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 atlas further noted that faster adoption of low-carbon policies would help reduce the severity of climate-related impacts.
It observed, '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%.'
(ANI)