3 dead, 19 missing in Chongqing following rainstorms

Devastating rainstorms hit several parts of Southwest China's Chongqing from Saturday night to Sunday morning, resulting in three deaths and 17 missing persons in the city's Yongchuan district, as well as two missing in Beibei district, local authorities said on Sunday.

According to a release by the local authorities in Yongchuan on Sunday afternoon, extreme torrential rains hit the area from Saturday night to the early hours of Sunday, triggering flash floods and geological disasters. Yongchuan's Chashan Zhuhai Street area recorded a maximum rainfall of 296.6 millimeters between 2:00 am and 4:00 am on Sunday, with an hourly peak of 103.6 millimeters. By 2:30 pm on Sunday, the number of casualties had risen to three, with 17 people missing.

In Beibei, a report from the local emergency management bureau on Sunday afternoon indicated that Beibei's Xinglong township was the hardest hit, recording 122.9 millimeters of rain between midnight and 3:00 am on Sunday, with a peak hourly rainfall of 59.4 millimeters, leading to two people missing.

Local governments are actively conducting search and rescue operations in response to the severe weather. In Yongchuan, 168 people have been evacuated as a precautionary measure and 82 have been relocated to emergency shelters.

Later on Sunday, the national commission for disaster prevention, reduction, and relief activated a Level IV national disaster emergency response due to severe flooding and geological hazards in the municipality. A work team has been dispatched to the affected areas to assess the damage and assist with local disaster relief efforts.