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My Take | China’s devastating rainstorms show there’s no room for complacency when it comes to climate risks
- Deadly highway collapse and tornado in storm-battered Guangdong province serve as reminders of importance of predicting and preparing for disasters
- Local officials are often held responsible if they fail to take effective precautions against extreme weather, which is seen as threat to stability
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Guangdong officials should have sighed in relief that there were no other major rainstorm-triggered incidents after 48 people were killed last week when a highway in the Chinese province collapsed.
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While there is no official explanation for the collapse, mainland media quoted engineers as saying heavy downpours were a cause.
In the days that followed, more rain hit the southern province. The risk of accidents was high because the storms coincided with peak traffic for the Labour Day holiday. A total of 295 million trips were made by travellers across China during the five-day public holiday.
Just days before the holiday began, five people were killed and 33 were injured after an intense tornado struck mega city Guangzhou and damaged over 100 factories.
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Dozens killed in highway collapse in China’s rain-hit Guangdong province
Dozens killed in highway collapse in China’s rain-hit Guangdong province
Guangdong was battered by multiple natural disasters last month – floods, rainstorms, and hailstorms – and tens of thousands were evacuated because of flooding.
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