Floodwaters Threaten to Engulf China’s Guangdong Province

As the situation in Guangdong province, China’s southeasternmost region, continues to deteriorate, officials are sounding the alarm, warning of imminent and potentially catastrophic flooding. Rare spikes in water levels are reported in sections of rivers and tributaries, a phenomenon that occurs only once every 50 years. The situation is being described as “grim” by local weather officials, who urge swift action to mitigate the disaster.

Guangdong officials are scrambling to put emergency response plans into action to safeguard the lives of over 127 million people, as severe convective weather has battered the region for several days. Heavy rainfall, strong winds, and hailstones have left a trail of destruction, causing widespread disruption to daily life.

In Qingyuan, more than 20,000 people have been evacuated, while in Zhaoqing, power facilities have been damaged, leaving some areas without electricity. Classes have been suspended in kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools in Qingyuan, as officials struggle to cope with the crisis. Social media platforms are filled with desperate messages from residents, including one user who posted, “Please look at Zhaoqing’s Huaiji county, which has become a water town. The elderly and children at the countryside don’t know what to do with power outages and no signal.”

The situation is equally dire in other parts of the province. In the provincial capital, Guangzhou, reservoirs have reached flood limits, with authorities warning that many hydrological stations are exceeding water levels. Even in neighbouring Guangxi, violent hurricane-like winds have left a trail of destruction, with buildings destroyed and major flooding reported.

As the situation worsens, rescuers are working tirelessly to save those affected by the disaster. In one heart-wrenching video, rescuers can be seen trying to save an elderly person clinging to a tree half-submerged in floodwaters. The province’s water resource ministry has issued an emergency advisory, urging departments to begin emergency planning and promptly disperse disaster relief funds and materials to ensure affected people have access to basic necessities like food, clothing, water, and shelter.

As the province struggles to contain the crisis, one thing is clear: the situation is grave, and swift action is needed to prevent the disaster from getting worse.