Devastating floods across Asia leave dozens dead and thousands displaced
Torrential rains and flash floods have wreaked havoc across Asia, from Afghanistan to Taiwan, killing at least 31 people in Afghanistan alone and leaving hundreds missing. The unprecedented deluge, described by residents as unlike anything they have seen before, highlights the devastating impact of climate breakdown, according to scientists and humanitarian officials.
“It rained for 10 days and 10 nights, non-stop – I’d never seen anything like it,” said Anar Gul, a construction worker from the remote Dur Baba district in eastern Afghanistan. His mud-and-stone house collapsed after days of rain, and his neighbour, Sayed Afsar Sadat, saw a large part of his home destroyed. “Rains like this are coming heavier and earlier each year. They are destroying the roads and washing away our crops. It’s impacting us directly,” Sadat told the Guardian.
Record rainfall and flash floods in Bangladesh and India
In Bangladesh, the city of Chattogram recorded 412.3mm of rainfall in 24 hours in early July, triggering a flash flood that swept through the Banshkhali district. Jesmin Akter, a mother of six, said her children “understand that we are in a very bad situation.” Overnight, the rains destroyed their poultry, flooded their paddy field, collapsed their house, and ruined all their belongings, including children’s books, school bags, and toys. Akter carried her children through chest-deep water to her mother’s house, where they stayed for over a week. “We have lost everything,” she said. “We have no money. We are surviving on the food assistance we receive from different organisations.”
India and Pakistan have also experienced erratic, sudden heavy rainfall, with monsoon chaos spreading across the region. Jesmin Akter’s daughter developed a fever, and she worries about unsanitary conditions leading to disease.
Extreme rainfall in China and Taiwan
In China, extreme rainfall has been ongoing since the flood season began in April, according to the water resources ministry. More than 600 rivers have risen above warning levels, a 35% jump from the five-year average. In Chongqing, a landslide after torrential rain killed at least 11 people and left 50 missing. A flash flood at a campsite in Gansu province killed 10 and injured 23. Typhoon Noul, the strongest to hit China this year, prompted the evacuation of more than 890,000 people in Guangdong. Typhoon Maysak earlier inundated parts of Guangxi and caused hundreds of snakes to escape from commercial farms.
Forecasters warn of more wet weather: northern China, including Beijing, is expected to receive 20% to 50% more rain than usual, and four to six typhoons are forecast to make landfall, above the average of 4.2. Taiwan recorded its highest monthly rainfall in over a century in June, with agricultural losses exceeding NT$330 million (about US$10.2 million).
Climate change supercharging storms
Scientists link the extreme weather to climate change. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned of increased flood risks in monsoon regions and glacier melting in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. World Weather Attribution scientists note that extreme rainfall from cyclones is being “supercharged” in southeast Asia. Richard Betts, head of climate impacts at the Met Office Hadley Centre, said: “More intense rainfall is an expected consequence of us heating the planet by burning fossil fuels... A warmer atmosphere can carry more water, so when it rains, it rains harder.”
Dr Hosam Faysal, head of the IFRC’s country delegation in Afghanistan, said: “These are the very real, humanitarian effects of a changing climate... becoming increasingly volatile.” He urged governments to invest in locally-led preparedness and mitigation to reduce loss of life. “The coming forecast El Niño is a clear example – waiting to respond to the extreme needs we can see coming only once they arrive will cost lives.”
