Flooding, Drought and Wildfires Ravage China

Tens of thousands evacuated as extreme rain events swamp central China

More than a million people have been affected in central China’s Hunan province, as storms dumped 200+mm of rain in less than 24 hours.

Floods have claimed at least a dozen lives, leaving many others injured, damaging or destroying thousands of homes, and forcing the authorities to evacuate more than  30,000 people.

In Yunnan province, more than 700 people are desperately attempting to control a major wildfire on Mt. Laoyingshan on the outskirts of Lijiang, said to be a popular tourist destination.

There were no details available concerning the extent of damage or the number of casualties, as of posting.

The blaze is one of a dozen or so significant wildfires aided by the severe drought in southwest, north and northeast China in the recent weeks.

Severe Geological Event in South China

A significant land subsidence in Maohe Village, Liuzhou City, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, caused buildings to collapse, affecting an area of about 7 hectares, and forcing the authorities to evacuate more than 1,700 villagers.

Original caption: Photo taken on May 10, 2012 shows collapsed wall in the Maohe Village in Liunan District, Liuzhou City of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A severe geologic hazard hit Maohe Village in Guangxi on Thursday, affecting an area of about 100 mu (66,667 square meters) and forcing more than 1,700 villagers to be evacuated to safe places. Several buildings have collapsed in the disaster, local sources said. (Xinhua/Li Bin). Image may be subject to copyright. More images…

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• In the first 4 months of 2012, China’s railways carried
  • 606 million passengers (up 2.8 percent YoY)
  • 785.34 million tons of coal (up 6.6 percent)
  • 35.96 million tons of grain (increase of 15 percent)
  • 1.33 billion tons of cargo (up 3.8 percent)

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar