Beijing: At least 15 people have died during heavy rain and flooding in Shanxi Province China North earlier this month, local officials said on Tuesday, after the usual dry area received rain three months in one week.
Floods hit the richest territory rich in coal during the national energy crisis, and after a flood record killed more than 300 people in Henan Province in July.
At least 60 coal mines in the province – one of China’s top coal producing areas – has been temporarily closed due to flooding, but now all but four have returned to normal operation, local emergency management officials Wang Qirui said at a press conference.
Wang said about 19,000 buildings were destroyed by extreme weather, with 18,000 other “severely damaged”.
“Fifteen people died of a disaster, and three people still disappeared,” he added.
At least 1.75 million people in all provinces have been influenced by flooding, with 120,000 evacuated safely, according to Wang.
Photos published on Tuesday by local state newspapers Shanxi Evening News showed traffic police carrying school children on their backs while navigating deep water after several vehicles stuck.
Shanxi received more than three times the average monthly rainfall rain for October in just five days last week, with the provincial government said precipitation had broken record in various regions.
Some areas throughout China have been beaten by unprecedented floods this year.
Thousands of people were evacuated in Hubei Province and Sichuan this summer due to heavy rain.
And more than 300 people were killed in Henan China Province in the middle of last month after recording rain – the value of rain one year in three days.
Experts say strange weather events such as heavy floods and convicted droughts are becoming increasingly common due to climate change.