Typhoon Maysak, the 10th typhoon of the year, has unleashed historic and relentless rainfall across south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region recently, triggering severe flooding, reservoir breaches, and mass evacuations, according to local authorities.
From Saturday, about 77 percent of Guangxi's townships have recorded rainstorm-level rainfall or higher. Cities including the regional capital Nanning, Guigang, Qinzhou, and Fangchenggang received over 600 millimeters of rain, shattering historical records.
The deluge pushed several small and medium-sized reservoirs to the brink, resulting in dam overtopping and causing structural breaches.
At least six people have been confirmed dead, with 11 others still missing, officials said at a press conference held on Tuesday evening.
The severe flooding has affected 375,000 people across Guangxi, prompting the emergency evacuation of 130,000 residents.
"Firefighting and rescue teams across Guangxi have been placed on Level II readiness, with the Nanning detachment elevated to Level I. A total of 1,671 personnel from 16 regional firefighting and rescue teams and the Nanning Mobile Firefighting and Rescue Detachment have been deployed, along with 330 fire trucks and 195 rescue boats, to Hengzhou City to carry out rescue operations. Moreover, the Guangdong Mobile Firefighting and Rescue Corps has dispatched 444 personnel, 47 fire trucks, and 37 rescue boats to provide cross-regional reinforcement," said Zhou Heming, deputy head of the Guangxi Firefighting and Rescue Corps.
Currently, 341 reservoirs in the region are above their flood-limit water levels and 56 monitoring stations on 41 rivers in Guangxi are reporting water levels above warning thresholds.
Local authorities said they will continue to strengthen early-warning systems, resident-relocation operations, and post-disaster recovery measures with more heavy rain forecast for the next three days.
"Currently, 341 reservoirs across the region are operating above their flood-limit water levels. Extreme torrential rainfall has triggered critical emergencies, including dam overtopping and breaches, at reservoirs such as Liulan and Yunbiao. After these emergencies occurred, water resources authorities immediately dispatched experts to assist local governments in swiftly evacuating downstream residents," said Chen Rundong, deputy director of the Water Resources Department of the Guangxi Regional Government.
Typhoon Maysak triggers reservoir breaches, mass evacuations in China's Guangxi
