14 Dies After Bus Falls From Bridge As Floods Destroy China

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For the second time in three months, China is grappling with torrential flooding caused by unusually heavy rains that killed at least 29 people and displaced more than 120,000 in the country’s northern regions.

14 people were killed when a commuter bus crashed into the river from a flooded bridge near the northern city of Shijiazhuang on Monday, Chinese media reported. Video circulating online showed stranded passengers waiting to be rescued on the roof of the bus that nearly sunk while swimming in the river. As of Monday night, 37 people had been rescued from the bus, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

They also revealed the fragility of China’s energy supply. China’s coal country Shanxi Province was among the hardest-hit areas by last week’s floods, with torrential rains killing at least 15 people. The flooding also caused the suspension of operations at 60 coal mines in the province, according to Chinese state news media. The outage comes as the government struggles to tackle a problem. power outage and nationwide blackouts partly due to rising energy prices and increased demand.

The heaviest rains occurred last week, with many traveling for China’s seven-day national holiday known as Golden Week. Chinese state news media stressed that 600 mines in Shanxi Province are operational and many workers have given up on vacation plans to continue producing coal. Two-thirds of China’s electricity comes from coal.

In addition to closing the mines, the flooding interrupted rail service on several lines in Shanxi Province and caused some of the ancient Pingyao walls. One of the best preserved medieval cities in China, to narrow it down. According to state news media, at least 17,000 buildings were destroyed and large farmland flooded. Other areas affected by the recent floods include the northern provinces of Hebei and Shaanxi.

Although the death toll in the latest flooding appeared to be lower than in July, many on Chinese social media asked why local media did not give enough coverage to the disaster. Hu Xijin, editor of the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper, wrote on his Weibo social media account on Saturday that the Shanxi floods had received less attention because casualties were minimal and flood relief efforts were proceeding smoothly. “stability of the country” during the holidays.

Some commentators on social media seemed to claim otherwise. On Sunday, someone took to Weibo to ask for help for people in the remote village of Nanfenggou in rural Shanxi Province.

“There are all the old people and the electricity and water have been cut off,” the user wrote. “We don’t know if there’s enough food.”

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