China put on red alert today a part of the southern part of the country due to deadly torrential rains in Guangdong Province, the capital of which is Guangzhou (Canton).

The highest-level alert has been in effect since 11:00 (06:00 Greek time) in Shenzhen, the weather service in the city of 17.7 million people, which borders Hong Kong, announced.

The authorities warned about “very high” risk of flash flooding.

Torrential rains have been lashing the province since Thursday Guangdong, the most populous in China (127 million inhabitants) and emblematic of Chinese industrial power with its tens of thousands of export-oriented factories.

The bad weather has claimed the lives of at least four people and has driven tens of thousands more from their homes, according to a toll that rose yesterday, Monday.

Rainfall has caused rivers to swell to levels that are prompting fears of the “floods of the century”, authorities warned on Sunday.

Heavy rainfall in southern China is not uncommon, particularly in summer, but is rather premature in spring.

The country has been facing extreme weather conditions for the last few months, which are worsened by climate change, according to scientists.