Death Toll to 39 as Flooding Devastates Southern China

Flooding triggered by Tropical Storm Maysak has killed at least 39 people in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with nine more still missing, after a reservoir dam breach sent torrents of water crashing into the city of Nanning.

Dam Breach Turns Deadly

The disaster began in early July when Maysak brought record-breaking rainfall to Guangxi, overwhelming rivers and reservoirs across the province. Cumulative rainfall reached 4 to 16 inches across much of the region, with some of the hardest-hit areas recording more than 35 inches over just a few days.

The most catastrophic damage came when the Liulan Reservoir dam partially collapsed in Hengzhou, a city under Nanning's jurisdiction, unleashing a wall of muddy water into the surrounding towns. Ding Wei, Nanning's vice mayor, said the dam breach alone accounted for 26 of the 39 confirmed deaths. The death toll had initially been reported as just six, before rising sharply once officials completed a fuller assessment of the damage.

State broadcaster CCTV aired dramatic footage of the reservoir wall crumbling under the pressure of the floodwater, with homes and vehicles submerged in the aftermath.

Massive Rescue Operation

Roughly 130,000 people were evacuated from the affected areas, and authorities deployed thousands of boats alongside drones in a large-scale search-and-rescue effort. Military rescue teams evacuated more than 10,000 students and teachers who had been trapped at a cluster of schools in Guigang city, about 40 miles from Hengzhou, with footage showing children in orange life vests being ferried away from partially submerged school buildings.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an "all out" rescue and relief effort, according to state media, directing officials to prioritize emergency rescue, treatment of the injured, and resettlement of displaced residents.

Recovery crews have since moved into Hengzhou to clear mud and debris and disinfect flood-damaged neighborhoods. Electricity has been restored to more than 60,000 homes, and road repairs are underway, officials said, though floodwaters were still receding as of the most recent briefing.

Animals Loose in the Chaos

The flooding also displaced wildlife across the region. More than 100 animals ΓÇö including zebras, alpacas, miniature pigs, raccoons, porcupines and peacocks ΓÇö escaped from Guangxi's Guigang Zoo after the flooding damaged enclosures, prompting the zoo to appeal to the public for help locating them. In Hengzhou, snakes reportedly escaped from a nearby farm, leading authorities to stock up on antivenom and issue guidance to residents on what to do if they encountered one. Animal shelter volunteers in nearby Binyang county worked to rescue roughly 200 cats and dozens of dogs from rising waters.

Part of a Wider Pattern of Extreme Weather

The Guangxi flooding was one of several severe weather events to hit China in recent weeks. Thunderstorms and tornadoes tied to the same weather system killed 11 people and injured over 275 in central China's Hubei province. Meanwhile, Xinjiang and Hainan provinces experienced prolonged heatwaves in June, with temperatures in Xinjiang reaching as high as 50┬░C (122┬░F).

Researchers cited by Chinese outlets have warned that many of the country's small and medium-sized reservoirs are aging and increasingly unable to withstand the kind of extreme rainfall events becoming more frequent as the climate warms. China's own meteorological authority has said the country is warming faster than the global average.

A second storm system, Typhoon Bavi, was tracking toward China's eastern coast in the days following the Guangxi disaster, prompting preparations in Taiwan and China's Fujian and Zhejiang provinces ahead of an expected landfall.