The death toll from powerful storms that battered several parts of China climbed to 15 on Tuesday, while hundreds of people were injured and tens of thousands forced to flee their homes, according to state media. President Xi Jinping called for authorities to make “all-out” efforts to rescue those affected and minimise further casualties.
Footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV showed raging torrents of muddy water surging through a breached reservoir in the southern Guangxi region, where tore through collapsed concrete walls after the dam gave way.
Emergency responders wearing helmets and life jackets continued searching for missing residents, while rescue teams used inflatable boats to reach stranded communities in flood-hit areas, according to state media broadcasts.
In central Hubei province, severe thunderstorms and powerful winds claimed at least 11 lives and left 331 people injured. State news agency Xinhua reported that tornadoes were also recorded in other areas late Monday as the extreme weather swept across the region.
Meanwhile, Typhoon Maysak brought torrential rain and widespread flooding to Guangxi, where at least four people died. More than 50,000 residents were evacuated from vulnerable areas, while eight people remained unaccounted for.
Snakes escape from breeding farm
Flooding in Guangxi also led to an unusual problem after hundreds of snakes escaped from a breeding farm, with videos of villagers attempting to catch the reptiles spreading rapidly on Chinese social media. The related hashtag drew more than 180 million views.
Wu Zhi, head of a local village committee, told state-owned Red Star News that between 800 and 900 snakes escaped on Monday morning after floodwaters destroyed the breeding facility.
Images from the affected town showed residents wading through knee-deep water, using fishing nets and even their bare hands to capture the snakes before they dispersed further.
Authorities in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi, have raised the city’s flood emergency response to the highest alert level as rainfall continues to threaten nearby communities.
In Hubei, one person was still missing, while Xinhua reported that nearly 4,800 homes were damaged and another 22 buildings completely collapsed.
The state news agency described the weather system as a sudden outbreak of severe convective storms marked by exceptionally strong winds over a short period.
President Xi instructed emergency agencies to spare no effort in coordinating rescue operations. He also stressed the need to provide medical treatment to the injured, relocate displaced residents safely and strengthen disaster prevention and relief measures.
frequently experiences natural disasters during the summer months, when heavy monsoon rains trigger floods and landslides in some regions, while others endure prolonged heatwaves.
Landslide kills 5 in Gansu
In a separate incident, a landslide in the northwestern province of Gansu killed five people on Tuesday. Rescue workers continued searching for 12 people who were still missing, although authorities did not immediately identify the cause of the landslide.
Xinhua said at least 33 people were initially reported missing after the landslide struck a village near Longnan city. Rescue teams managed to locate 21 trapped residents, but five later died despite receiving emergency medical treatment.
Scientists have repeatedly warned that climate change, driven by fossil fuel emissions, is making extreme weather events more frequent and intense across the world.
Although China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, it is also the leading investor in renewable energy and has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
The latest disaster comes just months after heavy rains swept across central and southern China in May, killing at least 22 people and bringing record-breaking rainfall to several areas, according to state media.
