‘We have lost everything’: extreme rainfall across Asia brings flash floods and typhoons
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- Afghanistan flash floods in eastern districts like Dur Baba killed at least 31 people and left hundreds missing after 10 straight days of rain, residents told the Guardian, with mud-and-stone houses collapsing and crops washing away.
- Chattogram, Bangladesh recorded 412.3mm of rainfall in 24 hours in early July, destroying homes, poultry and paddy fields in Banshkhali district and forcing families like Jesmin Akter's to flee through chest-deep water.
- China's water resources ministry reports more than 600 rivers have risen above warning levels since April — a 35% jump from the five-year average — while a Chongqing landslide killed at least 11 and left 50 missing, and a Gansu flash flood at a scenic campsite killed 10 and injured 23.
- Typhoon Noul forced evacuation of more than 890,000 people in Guangdong, and earlier Typhoon Maysak swept Guangxi's commercial snake farms, allowing hundreds of snakes to escape.
- Taiwan recorded NT$330m (about US$10.2m) in agricultural losses from June downpours, with Taipei logging its highest monthly rainfall in over a century.
- China Meteorological Administration forecasters say 4 to 6 typhoons will make landfall or affect China this summer, above the 4.2 average, with northern China including Beijing expected to receive 20% to 50% more rain than usual.
- World Weather Attribution scientists warn extreme rainfall from cyclones is being "supercharged" across southeast Asia, and IFRC country delegate Dr Hosam Faysal called the disasters "the very real, humanitarian effects of a changing climate," urging governments to invest in locally-led preparedness before the forecast El Niño arrives.
Why it matters: More than 600 Chinese rivers exceeding warning levels marks a 35% jump over the five-year average, and the IFRC's Dr Hosam Faysal directly framed these disasters as "very real, humanitarian effects of a changing climate," warning that waiting to respond to the incoming El Niño-driven cycle "will cost lives" unless governments shift from reactive aid to locally-led preparedness funding.
