Flood chaos in China: floods claim numerous victims!

Flood chaos in China: floods claim numerous victims!

A series of extreme weather events are causing devastating effects in China. Today, June 24, 2025, local media are reporting on the worst floods to affect the region in 30 years. Rivers overflowed their banks near the scene of the accident, causing widespread destruction. Videos show brown water entering a shopping center in Rongjiang county. Rescue workers are currently working in Jingyuan County, northwestern Gansu Province, to search for five missing people.

The recent change in the weather has not only caused direct damage, but has also caused human casualties. According to estimates, there are already at least 200 registered dead and missing people in connection with the summer storms this year, as spiegel.de reports. Flash floods surprised many people and left a path of destruction.

Continuing weather threat

Meteorologists predict that rainfall will continue in the western, central and eastern regions of China. While the south battles flooding, the north is suffering from extreme temperatures, reaching highs of up to 39 degrees Celsius in some cities in Beijing and parts of northeast and western China. These extreme weather conditions are part of a larger pattern that is becoming more common due to climate change.

The flood season, which began in April this year, started earlier than ever before. In Guangdong province, where the situation is particularly dire, floods in mid-June killed at least 47 people and average rainfall was 76% higher than usual, meaning over a meter per square meter.

Economic and social impacts

The economic damage caused by the floods in Chinese counties amounts to more than half a billion euros. Climate change is not only leading to more frequent extreme weather events, but also serious consequences for the region's food security. In neighboring Shandong province there has been no rain for weeks, leading to dry fields and poor harvest prospects. Farmers in the north are desperately trying to reactivate idle wells to produce water as many resign themselves to drought.

Given this difficult situation, China is working to establish an early warning system to prevent damage. Beijing has also set ambitious targets to reduce emissions, including an emissions trading system in the power sector, to become carbon neutral by 2060. However, the dependence on coal and fossil fuels in steel, iron and cement production will continue to make the implementation of these goals more difficult.

The mix of extreme weather conditions and the resulting economic and social challenges impressively shows how climate change is affecting the living conditions of the population in China and the current situation is already leading to billions in damage and a worrying increase in the number of weather events.