Agencies BEIJING

China warned on Wednesday against the risk of power supply disruptions as people struggled to keep cool in record heat baking large swathes of the country, which also spurred warnings to the elderly to guard against heat stroke. Power demand exceeded 1.5 billion kw for the first time last week, energy officials said, the third successive record for China this month.

Since mid-March, the number of days when temperatures hit 35°C or more is the highest on record, said Jia Xiaolong, deputy director of the National Climate Centre. Temperatures have hit new highs since mid-March in the central provinces of Henan and Hubei, Shandong in the east, Sichuan in the southwest, and northwestern Shaanxi and Xinjiang, pushing the national average to the second highest on record. During the last two weeks, 152 national weather observatories tracked temperatures above 40°C with one in Xinjiang reaching 48.7°C.

America reviews flood flaws

Texas lawmakers on Wednesday began reviewing the July 4 floods that killed at least 135 people, a disaster that put local officials under scrutiny over why residents along the Guadalupe River did not receive more warnings. Three people remain missing. At one point, county officials said more than 170 people were unaccounted for.

Storms pound Vietnam, 1 die

Heavy storms in northern Vietnam left one person dead and another missing, police said, as Wipha weakened from a tropical storm into a depression. Flooding damaged hundreds of homes, destroyed crops and cut off remote communities. In neighbouring Thailand, heavy rain triggered flooding in several northern provinces.

Pak flood toll swells to 234

Monsoon rain triggered floods in many parts of Pakistan, claiming 234 lives,  most of them in Punjab province, since the end of June, the National Disaster Management Authority said on Wednesday. Residents in Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahim Yar Khan, Jhang and ankana Sahib, all in Punjab province, were being moved to safer locations due to rising water levels in the Chenab, Indus and Jhelum rivers, officials said.