Extreme rain in China caused $2.2bn in road damage, further straining public purse

Extreme rainfall across swathes of China caused over 16 billion yuan ($2.24 billion) in road damage, the transport ministry said on Wednesday, highlighting how climate risks are placing additional pressure on the ailing economy's public purse.

The preliminary estimate covers damage to roads since the start of flood season, Li Ying, a ministry spokesperson, told reporters, and includes 23 provinces, regions and municipalities — more than two-thirds of China's administrative divisions.

Flood season officially began on July 1, according to China's water resources ministry, and brought record rainfall to the country's north and south.

So far, some 540 million yuan in emergency road repair subsidies have been allocated to local authorities by the transport and finance ministries, Li said.

The government has allocated 5.8 billion yuan in fresh funding for disaster relief since April, with flooding, landslides, earthquakes and drought having led to direct economic losses worth 52.2 billion yuan in the month of July alone, according to China's Ministry of Emergency Management.

China's heavily indebted local governments — already wrestling with trillions of dollars in liabilities — are ill-equipped to absorb mounting climate-relate damages.

This adds to the pressure on fiscally-stretched administrators to find ways of paying for public services, supporting local firms and job creation.