At least 15 people were killed by seasonal torrents in mountainous areas in southwestern China, authorities said on Wednesday. Additionally, four more people had been reported missing in Chongqing, a 31 million-person vast mountainous region that has been designated as a flood risk, according to the website of the local government. Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping has called for greater efforts to protect people from extreme weather.

Compared to other parts of China, the Chongqing floods have killed the most people. Thousands of people have been evacuated. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that flooding has caused more than 85,000 people to be evacuated from one southwestern province, Sichuan.

As the crisis gets worse, the flood warning for Chongqing has been raised to level three from level four. According to images posted on the government website, workers were removing landslide-blocked roads and escorting villagers to safety in inflatable boats.

Every year, China is affected by seasonal flooding, especially in the semi-tropical south. However, some northern regions have reported this year’s worst floods.

Over 300 people died in the central province of Henan in 2021. On July 20 of that year, a record amount of rain fell on Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, turning the streets into rushing rivers and flooding at least a portion of a subway line.

In 1998, China experienced its deadliest and most destructive floods, killing 4,150 people, most of them along the Yangtze River.

Meanwhile, heatwaves that arrived earlier and lasted for more days than in decades are scorching much of China, including Beijing.

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