Chinese authorities have warned of flash floods and swift currents in mountainous areas in the eastern, central, southern and southwestern regions of the country after heavy rains there. The red alerts, the first for this year, were issued late on Thursday covering areas in the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and Guangxi region, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the water resources ministry and national weather forecaster China Meteorological Administration. China is experiencing heavy and sudden rain in many parts, which meteorologists have attributed to climate change, leaving its huge population vulnerable to related disasters. In southern Hunan, heavy rainfall triggered the largest floods since 1998 in the upper and lower reaches of the Lishui River after its water levels breached the safety mark by more than two metres on Thursday. In the hilly metropolis of southwestern Chongqing, apartment blocks were submerged in muddy waters and some vehicles were swept away in flood waters gushing down streets, according to state broadcaster CCTV’s footage and images from Thursday. An image showed flood waters almost reaching the top of power cable lines. Water and power supply were also disrupted in some areas, CCTV said.

Full report : China warns of more floods as extreme storms hit world’s No.2 economy.