The death toll from devastating storms in parts of China rose to 15 on Tuesday, with hundreds more injured and tens of thousands evacuated, state media reported, as President Xi Jinping called for "all-out" rescue efforts.
Thunderstorms and gale-force winds killed at least 11 people and injured 331 in the central province of Hubei, where severe convective weather battered several cities and tornadoes were reported late on Monday, state news agency Xinhua said.
One person remains missing, while 4,800 homes were damaged and another 22 collapsed, according to Xinhua.
The agency said the severe weather was marked by its sudden onset and powerful, short-lived winds.
In the southern region of Guangxi, heavy rain and flooding triggered by Typhoon Maysak killed at least four people, forced the evacuation of more than 50,000 residents and left eight others missing.
Breached dam
Authorities in Nanning, Guangxi's capital, raised the flood emergency response to its highest level after torrential rain breached a reservoir dam.
Footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV showed muddy floodwaters surging through the collapsed concrete walls of the dam.
Xi urged rescuers to "go all out" in emergency operations and stressed the importance of treating the injured, relocating affected residents and strengthening disaster relief efforts, CCTV reported.
State media footage showed rescue workers wearing life jackets and helmets searching for survivors, while others used inflatable boats to reach flooded areas.
Landslide buries dozens
Separately, a landslide struck a village in the northwestern province of Gansu on Tuesday morning, burying 33 people. State broadcaster CCTV said 17 had been rescued but did not specify the cause of the landslide.
Local authorities said they were making every effort to locate those still trapped, relocate affected residents and prevent secondary disasters.
Natural disasters are common across China, particularly during the summer, when some regions experience torrential rain while others endure extreme heat.
Scientists say climate crisis is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events driven by greenhouse gas emissions.
China is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases but is also the world's biggest investor in renewable energy and aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
In May, at least 22 people were killed after heavy rain swept across central and southern China, with some areas recording their highest rainfall on record, according to state media.
