Trekkers have described facing “extreme” conditions after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China’s busiest holiday weekends stranded hundreds of people on Mount Everest, prompting a massive rescue effort. Chinese authorities said about 350 people had made their way down but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border. Crowds of tourists had travelled to the region for “Golden Week”, an eight-day holiday period in China. But Chinese authorities, which control the Tibetan Autonomous Region,…
Tag: Extreme weather
Weather tracker: Typhoon Matmo batters southern China
Typhoon Matmo made landfall on the southern coast of China on Sunday afternoon, shortly after sweeping across the island province of Hainan. The powerful storm forced the evacuation of about 350,000 people, bringing torrential rain and damaging winds, especially between Wuchuan in Guangdong and Wenchang in Hainan. Ferry services were suspended and flights cancelled at Haikou Meilan airport. Matmo, the 21st typhoon of the year, had sustained wind speeds of 94mph (151km/h) and dumped more than 50mm of rainfall in six hours in Chongzou and Qinzhou. The city of Nanning…
Super Typhoon Ragasa rampages through Taiwan, Hong Kong and southern China
Super Typhoon Ragasa pounded Taiwan, Hong Kong and China before moving into Vietnam on Thursday night, though as a much-weakened storm. At its peak Ragasa had mean wind speeds of 165mph as it moved to the south of Taiwan, where it brought significant heavy rain resulting in 17 deaths as a barrier lake burst. The storms then moved westwards just to the south of Hong Kong, before making landfall on Wednesday in the Guangdong province of China, with mean wind speeds of 150mph – equivalent to a category 4 hurricane.…
Super Typhoon Ragasa batters Hong Kong – video
Super Typhoon Ragasa has caused widespread flooding and damaged roads in Hong Kong, which resumed international flights on Thursday but kept kindergartens and some schools closed. Ragasa, the strongest storm so far this year, killed 14 people in Taiwan and 11 in the Philippines, according to officials. More than 100 people were injured in Hong Kong The Guardian
Weakened Super Typhoon Ragasa heads towards Vietnam after battering China and Hong Kong
Huge clear-up operations were under way in southern China and Hong Kong on Thursday, after Super Typhoon Ragasa battered the region, causing widespread flooding and damaged roads. Ragasa, the most powerful tropical cyclone so far this year, left a trail of damage across Hong Kong, which resumed international flights on Thursday but kept kindergartens and some schools closed. In the economic hub of Guangdong province in mainland China, where more than 2 million people were evacuated ahead of the super typhoon, crews used excavators to clear thousands of toppled trees…
Typhoon Ragasa live: Two million people evacuated in southern China after deaths in Taiwan and Philippines
From 2h ago Typhoon Ragasa batters Hong Kong and southern China after causing deaths in Taiwan and Philippines Hong Kong and parts of southern China weere on high alert as Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone this year, approached on Wednesday with powerful winds and rains, forcing Chinese authorities to shut down schools and businesses in at least 10 cities. Nearly 1.9 million people were relocated across Guangdong province, the southern Chinese economic powerhouse. The national weather agency forecast the super typhoon would make landfall between the…
Super Typhoon Ragasa: at least 14 killed in Taiwan as Hong Kong and southern China brace for impact
The bursting of a barrier lake in Taiwan has killed at least 14 people and left 124 people missing, officials have announced, after Super Typhoon Ragasa pounded the island with torrential rains and brought widespread damage to parts of east Asia. The outer rim of Super Typhoon Ragasa has been bearing down on Taiwan since Monday as its path moves down towards the southern Chinese coast. The barrier lake, formed by landslides triggered by earlier heavy rain in Taiwan’s east, burst its banks mid-afternoon on Tuesday, unleashing a wall of…
Weather tracker: Typhoon Podul pounds southern Taiwan
Typhoon Podul crossed southern Taiwan on Wednesday with wind speeds of up to 110mph (177km/h), equivalent to a category 2 hurricane. Podul had developed a week earlier, near the Northern Mariana Islands, and tracked west across the Philippine Sea, achieving typhoon status on Tuesday before making landfall in south-east Taiwan the following day. Podul whipped up high waves along the east coast, where a man died after being swept away while fishing. As the storm travelled overland, it dumped large amounts of rain across the south of the island, with…
Weather tracker: deadly floods devastate northern China
At least 70 people have died in northern China after another bout of torrential rain triggered flooding, the latest in a series of extreme rainfall events in recent months. Between 23 and 29 July, Beijing and its surrounding areas recorded an average of 166mm, equivalent to the monthly norm. The suburban district of Miyun received the highest amount of rainfall, with 543mm recorded, equivalent to the region’s annual average. The death toll included 31 people in a Miyun care home, 10 who were swept away in a minibus in Shangxi…
Chinese official makes rare admission of failings over deadly Beijing floods
A Beijing city official has issued a rare public acknowledgment of official failings in the authorities’ response to the severe flooding that hit China’s capital this week. Yu Weiguo, a Communist party secretary for Miyun, the northern district worst affected by this week’s extreme weather, said in a press conference on Thursday that there were “gaps” in the city’s readiness for the deadly floods. More than 40 people are confirmed to have died in the flooding that hit Miyun and Yanqing, another Beijing district, on Sunday and Monday. Nine are…