AP, BEIJING
Authorities in southern China yesterday said that 39 people have died in flooding from Tropical Storm Maysak, as Taiwan and China’s east coast braced for another major storm.Most of the deaths were related to the breach of a dam in an area east of the city of Nanning, which claimed 26 lives, Nanning Vice Mayor Ding Wei (丁偉) told a news conference.Nine people were missing in the broader Guangxi region.
A photograph taken from a drone in Hengzhou, China, on Tuesday shows damage downstream after the Liulan reservoir dam breached.
Maysak brought record rainfall to Guangxi starting on Saturday, breaching reservoirs, and stranding people for days in homes and other buildings. The previously announced death toll was six people.Typhoon Bavi is forecast to pass just north of Taiwan, bringing heavy rain to the nation, and make landfall in China’s Zhejiang or Fujian province tomorrow.
Heavy rain battered southern Guangxi for days, with cumulative rainfall of 10cm to 40cm in some areas and more than 90cm in hard-hit areas, the national meteorological center said.The reservoir breaches sent torrents of water into towns and cities.Drones and about 5,700 boats have been used in a massive relief and rescue operation to reach people trapped by the waters, with rescuers battling stiff currents and debris to try to reach people. About 130,000 people have been evacuated.Ding said that the floodwaters are receding, but more rain is expected in some areas in the next two days.Crews have been deployed to clear mud and debris and disinfect several towns in hard-hit Hengzhou city, which is east of Nanning and under its jurisdiction.Road repairs are ongoing and electricity has been restored to more than 60,000 homes, Ding said.
