China has launched a Level IV flood defense emergency response across seven southern provinces to combat the threat of widespread river floods and flash floods.
The mandate, issued on May 19 by the Ministry of Water Resources, deploys defense measures to Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Hainan provinces as relentless downpours continue to batter the region.
The China Meteorological Administration also kept its high-level orange alerts on Tuesday, warning that a massive storm system had entered its most volatile and destructive phase as it sweept across part of the country.
Over the weekend spanning May 15 to 19, a deluge of relentless torrential rain battered southern China, with cumulative rainfall exceeding 300mm across southern Hubei, northwestern Hunan, southeastern Guizhou, southern Guangxi, and southern Hainan Island.
The extreme weather has left a trail of destruction, submerging entire villages, trapping residents, and fueling public anger over inadequate infrastructure.
In Guizhou Province, social media footage captured harrowing scenes of vehicles floating down flooded streets in Songhe Township.
Pan described a scene of total devastation, saying that residents were caught completely off guard. "There was no way to move our household belongings, and we couldn't evacuate our livestock either," he said, adding that agricultural fields were entirely inundated and floodwaters had reached halfway up the hillside.
The crisis follows days of severe weather that began on May 13, turning major urban centers in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Jiangxi into virtual lakes. Footage circulating online shows motorists wading through deep water, with pedestrians attempting to navigate waist-deep torrents in heavily flooded areas.
The education sector has also been severely impacted. On May 14, the underground library at Guangzhou Huashang College was inundated, forcing stranded students to evacuate through neck-deep water. Rainwater also breached classrooms, and a perimeter wall on campus collapsed under the pressure of the storm.
Days later, on May 16, streets in Guangzhou’s bustling Tianhe District were submerged, leaving local business owners facing catastrophic financial losses after their shops were swamped.
The destruction escalated on May 18 in Shimen County, Changde, Hunan Province, where sudden flash floods ripped through two townships. In one dramatic incident, a steel suspension bridge snapped and was washed away by the roaring torrent in just 10 seconds.
Death Toll Rises to At Least 21
At least 21 people have been confirmed dead and others remain missing after days of torrential rain triggered widespread flooding and landslides across southern China, according to preliminary statistics compiled from state media reports.The deadliest single incident occurred in the southwestern region of Guangxi on May 16, where a pickup truck carrying 15 passengers plunged into a swollen river. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the accident resulted in at least 10 fatalities.
Further north, flash floods tore through low-lying communities. In Baishuihe Village, located west of Jingzhou in Hubei Province, sudden torrents claimed three lives and left four individuals unaccounted for.
Guizhou Province was struck by sudden, extreme downpours on May 16. According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, the storm caused at least four deaths and left five people missing in Guiding County as of 3:00 p.m. on the day of the deluge.
The catastrophic weather has severely paralyzed regional infrastructure. In the hardest-hit sectors of Hubei and Hunan provinces, local governments have shuttered schools, halted corporate operations, and suspended public transit networks.
The National Meteorological Center projects that from May 19 to 21, the storm system will move south and east, taking aim at the Jiangnan region, South China, and southern Guizhou. Heaviest rainfall is expected to persist across southern Guizhou, central and southern Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, and Guangdong.