Sudden floods in a mountain area in northwestern China resulted in the deaths of three out of seven people who were trying to avoid them last Thursday night, raising the toll from unusual weather fluctuations during an exceptionally rainy summer. Official media reported that "the seven hurried to find a safe spot in a mountainous region of Gansu Province after receiving a storm warning, but the floods caught up with them after midnight, leading to the deaths of three, while two others are missing."
In Sichuan Province in the southwest of the country the previous day, seven tourists were killed while taking photos at a water reserve after being swept away by the waters of a dam. The fatalities are linked to a summer marked by record rainfall and severe flooding. In another incident, official media reported that a 27-year-old woman has been missing since June 30 after floods swept through a camping site, resulting in the death of one of her friends in Guizhou Province in the southwest. The frequency of extreme weather events has increased in recent years, raising new concerns about the pace of climate change.
