China recently experienced its tenth typhoon this year, and its aftermath has left the country in a state of horrific disaster. Tropical Storm Maysak initially dumped heavy rains for days across the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
But now, the typhoon has caused massive floods that have claimed two lives, affected about 55,000 people in Nanning and forced about 48,000 residents of the city to evacuate.Maysak caused multiple reservoir emergencies, increasing river levels above warning levels and flooding several villages throughout Guangxi. In a video clip that circulated on the Internet, the collapse of the walls of a dam in the area was also shown. Authorities in Nanning confirmed that floods killed two people late yesterday.The typhoon made landfall in the southern island province of Hainan on Friday, where flights and ferry services were suspended. On Saturday, the typhoon made its second landfall in Quang Ninh, Vietnam, which shares a border with Guangxi. On Monday morning, state broadcaster CCTV reported that the Guangxi Hydrological Center issued an orange flood warning, the second highest alert level in the region.The Nanning Hydrological Center announced yesterday that the Nanning gauge of the Yujiang River is likely to rise to about 71 meters tomorrow, above the alert level of 69.4 metres.
Water in the Liulan Reservoir in Hengzhou reached 111.20 meters early yesterday, 0.91 meters above its designed flood level, while simultaneously overflowing the Yunbiao Reservoir.Breaches and floods were detected in multiple reservoirs in Hengzhou City and Binyang County in the region. The Liulan Reservoir was forced to fully open its floodgates, while its dam collapsed at 11am yesterday, putting villages and towns downstream at risk.
The collapse created a 50-meter (164-foot) hole in the structure, sending a massive torrent of water flowing downstream, China Business Network reported.Videos that spread on social media showed flowing muddy water sweeping through fields and telephone poles. In the distance, some people waved on the rooftops for help. More than a dozen DJI drones were deployed in the rescue effort to airdrop supplies and evacuate stranded residents.
Another video showed a man being pulled from floodwaters by a drone with a rope tied around his waist.
Media reports quoted workers at the reservoir as saying that more than 300 people in the area had moved to higher areas. According to public information, the construction of the medium-sized reservoir was completed in 1960 and can hold 95.52 million cubic meters of water (3.37 billion cubic feet). It provides irrigation to 40 villages in four towns.Nanning officials warned of the risk of more rain during a flood relief news conference. They pointed out that the difficulty of rescue efforts and transporting affected residents means that the disaster may worsen. Railway services in the area were also affected. The China-Vietnam international passenger train T8701, which departs Nanning for Gia Lam, Vietnam, on Monday, and the return train T8702, which travels through Pingxiang, have been suspended, according to the China Railway Nanning Group.
Relief efforts are underway
Xiao Xiang, a resident of Fulong Village in Yunbiao Town in Hengzhou, said that her brother and uncle were swept away by the flash flood while riding an electric bicycle near the village yesterday morning. They are still missing. In the town’s Wangzhuang Village, water rose to the second floor, forcing residents to retreat to the third floor and wait for rescue, a resident revealed.Guangxi Province has raised its emergency flood control response in Nanning and Guigang to level one and its response to geological hazards to level three.
The region’s maritime authority also raised its inland flood control response to Level 1, suspending operations at 201 ferry crossings, 371 passenger ferries, and 27 commuter routes.China’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Emergency Management have allocated CNY160 million (US$23.5 million) in advance disaster relief funding to support Guangxi and five other provinces and regions, while also shipping 150,000 units of relief supplies.