Deadly Storms Strike Heart of Jiangxi, Claiming Seven Lives and Leaving Travel Disrupted

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Severe storms hit Jiangxi, China, killing 7 and disrupting travel. High winds damaged homes and forced evacuations across the province.

A devastating series of unusual storms, reminiscent of typhoon conditions, struck Jiangxi province in China, resulting in the deaths of seven individuals since the past weekend, as per a Reuters article. The ferocity of the winds was such that it swept away three individuals from their high-rise homes while they were sleeping. Starting on March 31, the harsh weather has swept across nine cities, including Nanchang and Jiujiang, impacting 93,000 residents across 54 counties, according to the Jiangxi provincial authority for flood control and emergency response.

In an alarming incident, winds of such magnitude blew windows as large as doors out of their frames in two apartment units within a skyscraper in Nanchang.

Local news outlets have covered stories of three victims being yanked from their sleep and meeting their demise after falling. On Wednesday, it was announced that the storm had claimed seven lives in the province, necessitating the emergency relocation of 552 people. Furthermore, the storms have left 2,751 homes damaged.

The storms brought with them not only strong winds but also intense lightning displays, heavy rainfall, and hail the size of golf balls. These conditions mark the most severe storms the region has seen in more than a decade, causing economic damages estimated at 150 million yuan ($21 million), according to local authorities. The China Meteorological Administration issued alerts for winds capable of reaching level 12 on the Beaufort scale, akin to a Category I hurricane, a phenomenon usually linked with typhoons or hurricanes upon landfall in China and other parts of East Asia but seldom seen inland, especially in a landlocked area like Jiangxi province.

China utilizes a color-coded alert system for extreme weather conditions, where orange signifies the highest level of alert, followed by yellow and blue.

The country’s top meteorological agency has continued to issue the highest-level orange alert for severe weather conditions, including strong winds, hail, and thunderstorms, across southeastern China into Wednesday. This marks the issuance of the first orange alert for severe weather since 2013, as reported by the state media.

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