BEIJING — Landslides and floods have killed more than 150 people in southern China in the past two months as torrential rains batter the region.
In the latest disaster, a flood and landslide early Saturday in a Tibetan mountainous region of Sichuan province left eight people dead and 19 others still missing, state media said.
The early morning disaster destroyed homes and killed at least six people in the village of Ridi, the official Xinhua news agency said. Two others died and eight were missing after a bridge connecting two tunnels collapsed and four vehicles fell.
China is in the midst of its peak flood season, which runs from mid-July to mid-August, and Chinese policymakers have repeatedly warned that the government must step up disaster preparations as severe weather events become more frequent.
An annual government climate report last month said historical data shows the frequency of extreme rainfall and heat has increased in China, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
There have been several deadly storms since June.
Days of heavy rains following Typhoon Gaemi, which weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall in China about 10 days ago, have killed at least 48 people in Hunan province and left 35 others missing in the past week.
Authorities said Friday that the death toll from a storm that destroyed part of a bridge in Shaanxi province last July had risen to 38, with 24 missing. At least 25 cars fell into a raging river, carrying some of them far downstream.
In mid-June, at least 47 people died in floods and landslides triggered by extremely heavy rains in Guangzhou province. Six more people died in neighboring Fujian province.
Landslides and floods have also killed hundreds elsewhere in Asia this summer, including a devastating storm that killed more than 200 people in southern India last week.
