From burst riverbanks to a shattered reservoir wall, parts of China were left scrambling for safety as rescuers pushed through floodwaters to find survivors after a string of violent storms killed 17 people.
In the southern region of Guangxi, torrential rain and severe flooding linked to Typhoon Maysak claimed six lives and forced at least 130,000 people to evacuate, regional officials said. They warned that heavy rain was expected to continue in Guangxi and neighbouring Guangdong province.
State media said fast-moving, mud-choked water spilled over the banks of 40 rivers and waterways across Guangxi, inundating nearly 13,000 acres of agricultural land and compounding the damage for rural communities.
Footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV showed surging water racing past broken concrete where a reservoir dam wall had burst in Guangxi. Rescue workers, wearing life vests, were seen operating from inflatable boats amid the floodwaters.
As the situation deteriorated, Chinese authorities dispatched additional disaster relief supplies — including food, raincoats and rubber boats — to the affected areas, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Reservoir wall collapses in China following heavy rain
Officials kept Guangxi under the second-highest level of flood-control emergency response, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying said flood peaks more than 6 metres above the warning water level were expected at the Wuzhou Hydrological Station in Guangxi early Thursday.
“Due to the impact of persistent heavy rainfall and the prolonged passage of floodwaters at high levels, the safety of reservoirs and embankments in the affected areas faces a severe test,” he said.
Elsewhere, thunderstorms and gale-force winds killed 11 people and injured 331 in the central province of Hubei, Xinhua reported. Tornadoes were also reported in other areas late on Monday, the agency said.
Xinhua said one person was missing in Hubei, adding that 4,800 houses were damaged and another 22 had collapsed.
Natural disasters frequently strike across China, particularly during summer months when some areas are hit by intense downpours while others endure extreme heat.
In a separate incident in northwestern China’s Gansu province, state media said the death toll from a landslide rose to 21 a day after it buried 33 people.
Xinhua reported that rescue teams rushed to the site after the landslide hit on Tuesday morning in Rencang village, Dangchang County.
“Search and rescue operations at the site of the landslide in Dangchang County have concluded; the landslide resulted in 21 fatalities,” Xinhua said on Wednesday, citing local authorities.
Local media said the cause of the landslide was still under investigation.
