From the Los Angeles Times:
Flooding from torrential summer rains, which has killed at least 700 people and displaced millions, is the worst China has suffered in more than a decade, officials said Wednesday.
The rains, which began in May after a severe drought in southern China, are inundating cities and villages throughout the country. Well over half of China’s provinces are now enduring monsoon-like downpours, flooding and landslides.
“Compared to the same period for the last 10 years, losses from the flood are much higher this year,” said Liu Ning, secretary-general of the government’s flood prevention department, in a press conference Wednesday in Beijing.
Flood season plagues China every summer, but this year’s is likely to be the most devastating since 1998, when flooding killed about 4,150 people.
