VIDEO. Historic floods in China: impressive images of torrential rains that killed at least four people

This Tuesday, April 23, 2024, China lifted a brief red alert issued over part of the south of the country, where deadly torrential rains led to the evacuation of more than 100,000 residents in the most populated province.

Since Thursday April 18, 2024, torrential rains have hit the Guangdong province, emblematic of Chinese manufacturing power with its tens of thousands of export-oriented factories and which counts some 127 million inhabitants.

Qingyuan City, located in China’s southern Guangdong Province, has been flooded in the last few days. pic.twitter.com/pDXrvXSM1N

— Radio Free Asia (@RadioFreeAsia) April 23, 2024

Precipitation in recent days has caused rivers to swell to such a level that there are fears of "floods of the century&quot ;, warned the authorities. This Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the metropolis of Shenzhen was placed on red alert for several hours, the highest level of risk.

China has been facing extreme weather conditions in recent months. MAXPPP – XINHUA/Lu Hanxin

It was finally lifted following a significant improvement in weather conditions in this city of 17.7 million inhabitants, bordering Hong Kong. Heavy rainfall in southern China is not unusual especially in summer, but earlier in spring.

Already in September, Shenzhen had been hit by torrential rains, the heaviest ever recorded since weather records began in 1952, according to state media.

The bad weather in recent days has left at least four dead in Guangdong, while 10 people are still missing, according to an official report revised upwards on Monday which has not changed.

🇨🇳 Hong Kong is under water

82,000 people in Guangdong province near Hong Kong are leaving because of Typhoon Saola.

It's part of a bigger plan to help people in danger. The typhoon made over 460,000 people leave their homes in the area. pic.twitter.com/KBN9ro0i2V

— Arman Ali Verdi (@Armanali225) April 23, 2024

In addition, 110,000 inhabitants of the province had to be relocated, according to figures communicated by the official New China press agency.

Part of it was evacuated from Qingyuan, a town located about sixty kilometers from the provincial capital Canton, and crossed by the Bei River, a tributary of the Pearl River Delta. Elsewhere, bad weather has caused landslides in mountainous areas.

Army to the rescue

Aerial images of the province show homes surrounded by muddy waters that stretch for kilometers. Others show a children's play area and road signs submerged in muddy waters. The army was called in to help clear up the damage.

The army was called in to help clean up the damage. XinHua – Lu Hanxin

In Foshan, a city near Guangzhou, a ship hit a bridge, Xinhua news reported Tuesday, citing local authorities. This incident, undoubtedly a consequence of the floods according to New China, threw the crew of the boat into the water. Seven people were rescued but four remain missing, according to the agency.

Asia pays the high price

China has been facing extreme weather conditions in recent months, exacerbated by climate change according to scientists.

Climate change caused by human-emitted greenhouse gases is making extreme weather events more frequent and more intense, these scientists say.

Not once, not twice, but six times! The Canton Tower in S China's Guangdong Province was hit by lightning 6 times within one hour! pic.twitter.com/PuY1KXwA5m

— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) April 22, 2024

In China, "floods and droughts have increased significantly", D& rsquo;State Yin Zhijie, a forecaster from the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, worried about "intensifying global warming".

Trees uprooted after torrential rains. MAXPPP – LIU JUNFENG

Parts of Guangdong have not experienced such severe flooding at this time of year since 1954, according to Chinese state radio . Asia was "the region in the world most affected by weather-related disasters" in 2023, the’ ;rsquo;UN.