Downpours, floods test Chinese leaders ability to deliver on safety

Torrential rains brought flood to
 the southern half of China.

Beijing: Torrential rains and floods across the southern half of China have besieged cities and towns for days. Nearly 200 people had died by Friday in drownings, landslides and as buildings collapsed, including 35 buried by a landslide in the far west. Nearly 2 million people have been moved to safer ground while swollen rivers and lakes strain dykes and dams.

For China's leaders, the floods are a test of their ability to deliver on their promises of safety for citizens.

The country's flood defences have faltered in the past, weakened by neglect and corruption, and Prime Minister Li Keqiang​ and other leaders have said that this year the government is better prepared than ever.

Yet experts and residents in areas hit by the rains have claimed that local governments have neglected drainage and filled in lakes, leaving cities exposed to greater flooding.

Read Chris Buckley’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Deadly flooding hits China, putting pressure on leaders.”

(Torrential downpours are a symptom of climate change – Robert McLean.)