Relief efforts continue after floods displace thousands in typhoon-hit communities in south China

Emergency crews in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, are battling rising floodwaters and rushing supplies to thousands of displaced residents, after Typhoon Maysak unleashed days of torrential rain that had inundated townships and triggered reservoir breaches in the region.

As of Tuesday morning, 8,606 residents had been affected in Nanning's Binyang County, one of the hardest-hit areas, with 8,150 people relocated to safety, in the wake of torrential rains from Sunday and Tuesday, according to local officials.

In Gantang Township of Binyang County, floodwaters reached two to three meters deep in some villages.

With road access cut off in almost all areas in Gantang, supplies including food and medicine are being delivered in batches by firefighters, emergency workers, and volunteer groups door to door to those stranded in their homes.

Emergency teams from across the country have converged on this community. Among them are volunteers from Shantou in neighboring Guangdong Province, who brought 10 rescuers, three vehicles and six rubber boats to aid local relief efforts.

"We're from Shantou, Guangdong. We are here mainly to evacuate people and deliver supplies and some equipment [to those in need]. A moment ago, we delivered lamps to the township health center for the patients. Our team came here first with 10 people, three vehicles, and six boats," a volunteer told a China Media Group (CMG) crew reporting from the scene of relief supply delivery in Gantang.

As rainfall started to subside on Wednesday, rescuers expected the floodwaters to recede gradually in the coming days in Gantang and other communities of Binyang County.

In the nearby Hengzhou City, also under the administration of Nanning, the intense rainfall caused the Yunbiao Reservoir to overflow and breach its embankment, prompting large-scale evacuations.

Among the displaced residents, about 600 are currently being accommodated at a temporary shelter in Yunbiao Township.

At the shelter, a service desk has been set up to collect and document the evacuees' needs. Stable internet services have been restored and additional lighting installed. An ambulance remains on standby, and a temporary medical clinic is operating on-site to treat the injured and those in need of urgent care.

A gas station across from the shelter has been converted into a supply depot where essential goods are being organized and distributed, with some being delivered directly to the shelter and others transported to flooded villages where many residents remain stranded.

Rescue teams are using rubber boats to reach the cut-off communities. For areas inaccessible by watercraft, drones are being deployed to airdrop supplies.

Relief efforts continue after floods displace thousands in typhoon-hit communities in south China

The head of German auto giant Mercedes-Benz has stressed the automaker is looking to navigate through the current challenges facing the auto sector by investing in innovation, technology and new products, with the firm introducing a wave of new vehicle models.

Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, was speaking in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), during which he acknowledged that intense competition amid a complex environment is squeezing profit margins, particularly in key markets such as China.

Kallenius listed several external pressures facing the company which come amid the wider changes taking place across the industry, and said automakers will simply have to adapt in order to remain competitive.

"I don't think that the intense competitive situation in China is going to go away any time soon, so there will be pressure here. Of course, the tariff system, especially for a global company like Mercedes-Benz, it has changed and we have to accept that now. And there are also other regulatory challenges or other things that's going on in the world," he said.

Kallenius said that while making efforts to manage disruptions in the short-term, the Mercedes-Benz Group is investing more in innovation, technology and products.

He noted that as part of this strategy the firm is unveiling 40 new models in the three-year period up to 2027 as it looks to build momentum to overcome the present difficulties.

"I think that 2026 for us is a year of execution, actually bringing models into the pipeline [and we aim to] build upon that in 2027 and 2028. So we take for this financial picture, we take like a mid-term view," he said.

"We have a solid foundation. Yes, it is a tougher business environment than it was maybe three years ago. But we can deal with it and we want to build ourselves into a stronger position over the next years into the mid-term carried by the product offensive," Kallenius said.

Mercedes-Benz CEO says firm pinning recovery on product offensive