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Intense convective weather involving violent thunderstorms, gale-force winds, and tornadoes has claimed the lives of at least 11 people and left 331 others injured in central China, while flooding farther south has caused two additional fatalities.
Between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. (Local time) on Monday, thunderstorms and strong winds hit Huangshi, Huanggang, Ezhou, and Xianning, with two townships seeing gales reaching level 13. Some areas saw tornadoes, according to the local authorities.
The extreme weather has torn down 22 buildings and damaged another 4,855 in the area, according to an article by local news agency Xinhua.
Tornadoes were reported in some areas, and one person is missing in addition to the 331 people injured in Huanggang's Huangzhou district as of Tuesday morning, with no details on their severity.
Authorities also evacuated 408 residents to safe areas, it added. "Rescue and relief efforts are underway," Xinhua said.
Heavy rains and severe flooding from Typhoon Maysak killed at least two people in the southern region of Guangxi, and prompted authorities to evacuate at least 48,000 people as of Monday evening.
Officials in Nanning, Guangxi's capital, raised the flood control emergency response to the highest level after torrential rain breached dams.
Rain caused the walls of a reservoir dam, a barrier built to hold back water and raise its level, to burst, with dramatic video shared by CCTV showing a torrent of muddy water rushing the crumbled concrete.
Homes and cars elsewhere in the region were partially submerged, it showed.
Rescue workers were seen wearing life vests and helmets, while others were on inflatable boats searching for people.
Scientists warn the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.
China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, but it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.
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