Rain And Floods Wreak Havoc In New Zealand

Rain and floods wreak havoc in New Zealand, many homes were evacuated on South Island.

More than 400 homes were evacuated on Friday in Nelson, New Zealand’s South Island, due to heavy rain, flooding, and landslides.

According to the National Emergency Management Agency, a local emergency remains in place for the West Coast and Nelson-Tasman regions due to the current severe weather.

The agency said in a statement that the inclement weather caused the floods, which required rescue, and further impacts are possible.

Hundreds of locals could not return to their homes for the second night this week due to prolonged rains, floods, and strong winds, as the Meitai River running through Nelson breached its banks, a news agency reported.

Rain and floods wreak havoc in New Zealand: Civil Defense teams are helping residents in the flooded streets.

According to New Zealand’s national weather authority, MetService, a red alert has been issued for heavy rain in Nelson, Buller, and Westland in the South Island.

The state highway leading to Nelson has been closed due to slippage and flooding.

The government is making an initial contribution of New K200,000 ($124,794) to the Mayor’s Relief Fund to help communities in Nelson-Tasman.

New Zealand has experienced one of the warmest winters this year due to more severe weather, with many places breaking their rainfall records or receiving above-average rainfall.

Flash floods in western China, 16 dead, 36 missing.

At least 16 people have been killed and 36 are missing in flash floods in China’s northwestern Qinghai province. Local officials gave this information on Thursday.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the local emergency management department as saying that there was a sudden flood in Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous City.

A total of 6,245 people from 1,517 houses in six villages have been affected due to the floods. This flood occurred due to sudden heavy rains in Datong town.

According to the news of China’s official newspaper Global Times, local authorities have taken steps under the second level of emergency response on Thursday morning.

Level II emergency response is the second most severe response in China’s four-tier disaster control emergency response system.

More than 2,000 people from the armed police, public security, emergency, and health departments have been sent to the site along with more than 160 vehicles for post-flood relief and rescue operations.