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Severe flooding triggered by days of relentless rain in southern China has left at least 39 people dead, as authorities brace for another powerful typhoon heading toward the country’s eastern coast and Taiwan.
The hardest-hit area was Hengzhou in Guangxi region, where the partial collapse of a reservoir dam unleashed floodwaters into nearby communities, killing 26 people, according to Nanning Vice Mayor Ding Wei. At least nine people remain missing across the region.
Tropical Storm Maysak brought record rainfall to Guangxi since Saturday, causing rivers and reservoirs to overflow, inundating homes and stranding residents for days. The death toll has risen sharply from earlier reports earlier this week.
Rescue operations have been extensive, with military teams evacuating more than 10,000 stranded students and teachers from schools in Guigang city.
State media footage showed evacuees in life jackets boarding boats as floodwaters engulfed buildings.
Authorities said around 130,000 people have been relocated to safer areas, with drones and some 5,700 boats deployed to deliver aid and evacuate residents.
Cleanup efforts are now underway, with roads being repaired and electricity restored to more than 60,000 households.
The flooding has also disrupted wildlife and livestock. A zoo in Guigang reported over 100 animals missing, while officials in Hengzhou warned residents about snakes believed to have escaped from flooded farms.
Meanwhile, Typhoon Bavi is advancing northwest and is expected to pass near Japanese islands before skirting north of Taiwan and making landfall in China’s Fujian or Zhejiang province on Saturday.
Although it has weakened from a super typhoon, Bavi still carries maximum sustained winds of up to 184 km/h, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration.
Precautionary measures are underway across the region, with fishing boats docked in Taiwan and transport disruptions reported in parts of the Philippines.
China’s National Meteorological Center said parts of Guangxi received between 10 and 40 centimetres of rain in recent days, with some areas exceeding 90 centimetres.
Elsewhere, severe weather continues to batter the region. In central China’s Hubei province, storms and tornadoes killed 11 people earlier this week, while landslides in Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps have claimed at least 13 lives.
Officials warn that more rainfall is expected in the coming days, raising concerns of further flooding and damage.