Beijing, China (AFP) – Torrential rains have killed five people and left eight missing in northern China’s Shaanxi province, state media reported Friday.
Heavy rain has pummelled swathes of northern and central China since Tuesday, sparking flash flooding and disrupting public transport.
In Shaanxi province’s Baoji city, heavy rains sparked landslides and mudflows, state news agency Xinhua said.
Five people have so far died, it said, while eight are still missing.
Over two thousand people in the city have been evacuated, state media said this week, with services disrupted along some train lines.
Neighbouring provinces of Gansu and Henan have also been affected by the downpour this week, Xinhua said.
Eastern Shandong province is expected to be hit by more heavy rains over the next 24 hours as is southwestern Sichuan, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
China is enduring a summer of extreme weather, with heavy rains across the east and south coming as much of the north has sweltered in successive heat waves.
The country is the world’s leading emitter of the greenhouse gases that scientists say drive climate change and make extreme weather more likely.
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