Heat, floods, drought play havoc in China, seven missing after rains

Seven people have been reported missing in a landslide caused by torrential rains as employers in much of China, where heat, flooding and drought have played havoc, were told to limit outdoor work due to scorching temperatures.

Rescuers searched for survivors of a landslide on Saturday (July 8) that buried a highway construction site and killed at least one person in the central city of Yichang in Hubei province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Also read: Landslide hits central China highway construction site, 9 people go missing

Elsewhere, the weather agency issued an ‘orange’ alert, its second-highest-level warning, for heat across southern China and much of the north and northeast.

Temperatures above 40 C were forecast in Beijing and in central China to the southeastern coast. Heat above 37 to 39 C (99 to 102 F) was forecast in parts of populous Sichuan province in the southwest.

Temperatures above 35 C (95 F) were expected in most of northern China, the rest of Sichuan and much of the south.

The orange alert requires employers to make outdoor work as brief as possible. However, delivery workers for restaurants and online retailers continued to work.

Heat deaths

Two heat-related deaths were reported earlier in Beijing. A tour guide collapsed last weekend at the Summer Palace, an imperial-era garden. A woman died last month from heat stroke.

The agriculture ministry warned on Sunday (July 9) that persistent hot weather could damage rice harvests.

Elsewhere, tens of thousands of people were driven out of their homes by flooding in northern, central and southeastern China.

Some areas including populous Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, on Sunday issued a red alert, the highest-level temperature warning.

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That requires employers to stop outdoor work and orders local authorities to make preparations to protect the public.

Residents of some cities even moved into underground air raid shelters for relief from the heat.

(With inputs from agencies)