China braces for back-to-back typhoons as extreme weather risks rise

{"text":[[{"start":10.25,"text":"Central and southern China was battling record rains and deadly floods in the wake of a typhoon this week with another “severe” storm on the way, in a sign of how extreme weather patterns are affecting one of the world’s most heavily populated regions."}],[{"start":25.7,"text":"Authorities said 39 people were killed in Guangxi, a poor southern region neighbouring Vietnam, where days of heavy rain this week caused a dam to burst in the city of Hengzhou, flooding surrounding settlements. Several towns and cities in the region reported record rainfall, with more than 90cm falling within 24 hours in the hardest-hit areas."}],[{"start":47.55,"text":"Elsewhere, tornadoes in central China’s Hubei province caused at least 11 deaths, while a landslide in Gansu, in the north-west of the country, killed 21 and injured seven."}],[{"start":58.25,"text":"The deluge in Guangxi was brought by Typhoon Maysak, the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in China this year. A second, Typhoon Bavi, is expected to reach the eastern Chinese coast in the coming days."}],[{"start":72.2,"text":"Bavi recorded maximum sustained wind speeds of 230 kilometres per hour and was initially classified as a “super typhoon”, according to the Hong Kong Observatory. It has since weakened to a “severe typhoon”, with wind speeds of 175km/h."}],[{"start":89.25,"text":"Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport cancelled hundreds of flights in anticipation of the storm. Stock trading was halted and schools were closed on Friday. The approaching typhoon also disrupted some flights in Hong Kong and in eastern China."}],[{"start":105.25,"text":"The destruction underlined China’s vulnerability to violent weather patterns as a result of climate change, and the challenge for policymakers to future-proof the world’s second most populous nation — and second-biggest economy — to this new reality. "}],[{"start":119.8,"text":"“These events might be extreme in terms of what we feel, but they’re not extreme statistically now,” said Benjamin Horton, dean of the School of Energy and Environment at City University of Hong Kong. "}],[{"start":132.85,"text":"The global average temperature rise in the industrial era is estimated to be nearing 1.4C, causing more frequent and intense weather patterns across the world, making heat, droughts, floods and cold periods each more severe. "}],[{"start":148.04999999999998,"text":"The northern hemisphere summer has been especially deadly, as June land temperatures made the month the second hottest on record and the global average sea temperature reached a new high."}],[{"start":159.79999999999998,"text":"China is the nation making the most progress in developing green energy but its growing power needs mean it also remains the world’s biggest annual contributor to the greenhouse gases behind climate change as it continues to burn fossil fuels."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":175.2,"text":"While climate change is outpacing resilience efforts globally, Horton said, in China, rapid urbanisation combined with a continental landmass meant that the country was heating faster than other regions of the world. "}],[{"start":188.5,"text":"“They had some catastrophic flooding and now on top of that you have a typhoon coming in, so you’re having overlapping hazards,” said Horton, adding that such “compound” hazards increased the risk of “a humanitarian disaster”."}],[{"start":202.35,"text":"Many parts of southern and central China were scrambling to respond to the damage of Maysak at the end of the week, with Bavi bearing down."}],[{"start":210.54999999999998,"text":"Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for “all-out efforts” to help those affected. On Thursday, central authorities directed local governments to step up flood prevention and response measures, including inspections of riverside roads and bridges."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":226.14999999999998,"text":"Authorities in Guangxi deployed 8,000 personnel as well as boat and drone fleets as part of search and rescue operations. About 130,000 residents have already been evacuated, while many remain stranded in flooded homes or sheltering in higher altitude areas, according to local media reports on Thursday."}],[{"start":245.89999999999998,"text":"In Hengzhou, where the dam collapsed, the flooding of a snake farm led to the escape of about 900 snakes, including cobras. Local media reported that at least one person hads been killed and about a dozen injured by venomous bites. Videos on social media — which the FT was unable to verify — showed cobras swimming in brown floodwaters and hissing at residents."}],[{"start":266.75,"text":"Elsewhere in Guangxi, flooding at the Guigang zoo killed three lions and freed scores of other animals, including zebras, deer and ostriches. Thousands of pigs drowned in Binyang county, raising health concerns, according to media reports."}],[{"start":282.9,"text":"The extent of the damage spurred calls from experts for greater investment to improve China’s resilience to extreme weather. "}],[{"start":290.34999999999997,"text":"“The reservoir collapse in Guangxi . . . shows some weakness in our current infrastructure,” said Su Hui, chair professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “There are definitely some areas we want to strengthen with the backdrop of climate change.” "}],[{"start":310.2,"text":"Su noted that China, with its long coastline, complex geography and monsoon climates, was particularly exposed. She added that atmospheric disturbances this year caused by El Niño, a weather system associated with a warming in the Pacific Ocean, had triggered an earlier typhoon season."}],[{"start":328.3,"text":"With Typhoon Bavi tracking towards northern Taiwan and China’s Fujian and Zhejiang provinces and expected to make landfall over the weekend, China’s eastern coast and inland areas could be in store for yet more “extremely heavy” rainfall, said to Chi-ming Shun, former director of the Hong Kong Observatory."}],[{"start":346.45,"text":"“We will need to quickly adapt to a warmer world . . . with more extreme weather,” he said."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":352.2,"text":"Where climate change meets business, markets and politics. Explore the FT’s coverage here."}],[{"start":359.05,"text":"Are you curious about the FT’s environmental sustainability commitments? Find out more about our science-based targets here"}],[{"start":375.20000000000005,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783741118_7076.mp3"}