China placed part of the south of the country on red alert on Tuesday due to deadly torrential rains in Guangdong province, which has Canton as its capital.
This alert, which corresponds to the highest level, has been in effect since 11 a.m. (11 p.m. Monday evening in Quebec) in Shenzhen, indicated the meteorological services of this city of 17.7 million inhabitants, bordering Hong Kong.
Authorities have warned of a “very high” risk of flash floods.
Since Thursday, torrential rains have hit the Guangdong province, the most populous in China (127 million inhabitants) and emblematic of Chinese manufacturing power with its tens of thousands of export-oriented factories.
The bad weather left at least four dead and led to tens of thousands of evacuations, according to a report revised upwards on Monday.
Rainfall in recent days has caused rivers to swell to such a level that there are fears of “floods of the century”, authorities warned on Sunday.
Heavy rainfall in southern China is not unusual especially in summer, but occurs earlier in spring.
The country has faced extreme weather conditions in recent months, exacerbated by climate change according to scientists.
Climate change caused by human-emitted greenhouse gases is making extreme weather events more frequent and more intense, these scientists say.
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