Key facts
- Southern China's Guangxi region experienced record-breaking floods and destruction from the remnants of Tropical Storm Maysak.
- Six people have died and 11 are missing in the Guangxi region.
- 130,000 people were evacuated due to the severe weather.
- Residents reported extreme conditions, including houses submerged and lack of power and water.
- Snakes from flooded breeding facilities were reported to be at large in Hengzhou city.
- Heavy rain continued to impact the region, leading to suspended train services.
Southern China's Guangxi region was grappling with widespread destruction and flooding on Wednesday following record-breaking rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Maysak. Officials reported that six people had died and 11 others were missing by Tuesday evening.
The severe weather forced the evacuation of 130,000 people, with some residents still awaiting rescue. One individual, Lu Xiaofei, described her brother's family being trapped on the second floor of their home in Lu village, with water levels exceeding one person's height, power out since the previous morning, and no running water.
Lu relayed that her brother expressed concerns about running out of drinkable water soon, as local authorities had not yet reached them. Many villagers in the vicinity faced similar challenges. Social media also showed videos of inundated surroundings and highlighted a lack of resources. Local media reported that snakes from breeding facilities had escaped into Hengzhou city, with some attempting to enter homes, and that over a dozen people had been bitten.
The national meteorological center stated that heavy rain had been affecting central-eastern and southern Guangxi since Saturday, with cumulative rainfall ranging from 100 mm to 400 mm in some areas, and over 900 mm in the hardest-hit locations. The agency predicted continued heavy rain for Wednesday. Consequently, some train services in the region were suspended for safety reasons.
Meanwhile, Super Typhoon Bavi was expected to impact southeastern China over the weekend. In other parts of Asia, severe weather also resulted in fatalities, with landslides in southeastern Bangladesh killing several Rohingya refugees, including children, and heavy monsoon rains in India causing over a dozen deaths in recent days.