Chinese authorities warn of 'multiple natural disasters' in July

Chinese authorities have issued a warning of extreme weather and "multiple natural disasters" in the coming month after heavy rain destroyed the infrastructure and forced thousands to be evacuated.

According to Xinhua news agency, an alert was issued on Tuesday for rain-triggered disasters in large swathes of central and southwestern China. Meteorological authorities have warned the country will face "multiple natural disasters in July, including floods, severe convection weather, typhoons and high temperatures", the agency said.

The sign of damage caused by the rain was spotted by workers on Tuesday as they discovered that a closed-off railway bridge on the outskirts of the southwestern metropolis Chongqing had collapsed after it was "damaged by the impact of mountain torrents", said the state broadcaster CCTV.

As per the CCTV report, more than 400 emergency personnel have been sent to survey the damage and secure the area, with dozens of trains redirected. The report does not mention any casualties in the matter.

In the neighbouring province of Sichuan, authorities Tuesday said more than 460,000 had been affected by the heavy rain this month, Xinhua reported.

Officials said that about 85,000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to the rain, with "flash floods in mountainous areas" and "possible mudslides in some parts" expected this week.

Provincial officials said on Sunday that more than 10,000 people have also been evacuated after floods in the central Henan province damaged more than 2,000 homes. And over the weekend, dozens of homes and roads were destroyed in Shaanxi province during "once-in-fifty-years" torrential rains, the Communist Party-owned Chongqing Daily said Monday.

There were videos of cars drifting down a flooded road in Hunan last week, with murky torrents gushing past apartment blocks and shops all over the Chinese media.

Scientists have said that rising global temperatures - mainly caused by burning fossil fuels aggravate extreme weather worldwide, and many countries in Asia have experienced deadly heat waves and record temperatures in recent weeks.

China’s National Meteorological Center has warned residents in Beijing and a dozen other regions to stay indoors with temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius.

As per the National Meteorological Center statement released on Sunday, China recorded an average of 4.1 days each month in the first half of this year in which temperatures exceeded 35 degrees, the highest since national records began in 1961.