By Abdullahi Lukman
No fewer than 10 persons were confirmed dead and two others missing after a flash flood struck Inner Mongolia in northern China on Saturday night, according to state media.
The flood occurred when the banks of a river burst around 10 p.m. local time, sweeping away 13 people who had been camping on the outskirts of Bayannur, a key agricultural hub in the region.
One person was rescued, and over 700 personnel have been deployed in an ongoing search and rescue operation, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The disaster comes amid persistent extreme weather across China, with unusually heavy rains linked to the East Asian monsoon and exacerbated by climate change.
The country has faced widespread flooding since July, displacing thousands and causing significant economic damage.
Bayannur plays a crucial role in China’s food supply, serving as a major center for grain, oil, and sheep production.
Elsewhere in the country, weather-related incidents continue to cause disruptions.
In the southern province of Hainan, a fishing ban ended Saturday, though authorities had ordered vessels to remain in port due to heavy rains.
In Sichuan, two people died and three were injured Friday when severe weather caused a truss to collapse at a beer festival in Mianzhu.
The Inner Mongolia tragedy follows last month’s downpour in Beijing that killed at least 44 and forced more than 70,000 evacuations.
In response to ongoing disasters, the central government recently allocated an additional 430 million yuan ($59.9 million) for relief, bringing the total since April to over 5.8 billion yuan.
