China to ramp up restoration efforts in areas severely affected by floods

China is set to ramp up restoration efforts in the country's north and northeast regions which were severely impacted by storm Doksuri.

As per state media reports, Beijing will reconstruct the houses that were destroyed due to the recent record flooding in order to make sure that the ones affected can go back to their homes by winter.

The floods, which ravaged farms and cities in the northern Hebei province and enclosing areas, led to more than 1.5 million evacuations.

China's Cabinet said authorities would accelerate the efforts to restore power and telecom connections destroyed by the floods, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing a cabinet meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang.

Death toll reaches 30

The floods have so far claimed the lives of at least 30 people in north and northeast China, as per state media reports, although there is no updated figure for the number of deaths or the total number of people evacuated.

Last week, the rainfall broke many records in Beijing and northern China, with the vast Haihe river basin hit with its worst flooding since 1963.

More than 800,000 police officers had been assigned to protect people's safety, property and "effectively safeguard overall social stability" in the disaster-hit areas, state news agency Xinhua said, citing the Ministry of Public Security.

Police would severely crack down on those taking advantage of the disaster to engage in crimes such as "theft, robbery, picking quarrels and provoking troubles, and looting materials", it said.

Natural disasters kill 147 in China

Last week, China released a statement saying that natural disasters had claimed the lives of at least 147 people, with several missing in the month of July after record rainfall hit the country's capital.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management said that 142 of the deaths or disappearances recorded in the month of July were caused by flooding or geological disasters.

The remaining five deaths or disappearances were due to other natural disasters such as drought.

Climate change and extreme weather events in China

Notably, China also recorded its highest temperature of more than 52 degreeCelsius just last month, with millions being affected by extreme weather events across the country.

“China has suffered unprecedented extreme heatwaves since last year...This year, there are record-breaking high temperatures in Northern China,” Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based NGO the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs told AFP.

He added, “These heatwaves are linked to global warming, and this is what most climate scientists around the world tend to agree.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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