BEIJING (AP) — China is being hit by two weather extremes, with heavy rains and flooding in parts of the south and a heat wave and potential drought in the north.
The body of a student who fell into a swollen river in the southern city of Guilin was found two days later on Saturday, state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report. Elsewhere in the Guangxi region, heavy rain flooded homes in some villages, with 137 people evacuated on Sunday morning, CCTV reported.
To the east, landslides and flooding hit parts of Fujian province, with excavators used to clear mud in Songxi county on Sunday after a landslide trapped a truck. Videos posted online by the Quanzhou city government showed vehicles inundated by muddy flood waters in one part of the city.
The Chinese government has issued repeated calls to step up disaster prevention and preparedness in anticipation of more severe weather events due to climate change. Violent rains and hailstorms killed seven people in eastern China’s Jiangxi province earlier this year.
Much of northern China, including the capital Beijing, has experienced high temperatures over the past week. The National Meteorological Center has issued a heat warning, forecasting highs around 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) for Monday in parts of Beijing and nearby areas and the Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia regions to the west.
Hot weather was also reported in Taiwan, the autonomous island claimed by China off its east coast. The temperature reached 36.6 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) in a township in Taitung County on Sunday, the island’s Central News Agency reported, citing the government meteorological agency.
The lack of rain in northern China has raised concerns about agricultural production this year.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong on Saturday called for drought prevention efforts during an inspection visit to Hebei province, which borders Beijing.
He said water resources should be allocated scientifically and water conservation for agriculture should be strengthened, the official Xinhua news agency reported. He also asked farmers for help planting drought-resistant crops to lay the groundwork for the fall grain harvest.
