Historic heavy rainfall lasting day and night has submerged many areas in Maichau, Guangdong, China, causing traffic disruptions, widespread power outages, and isolating several villages.
Heavy rain began pouring down on the evening of June 15 and continued until the end of June 16, devastating the central and southern regions of Maichau City, Guangdong Province. Numerous roads were severely flooded, leading to paralyzed traffic. Widespread power outages were also reported. Some remote villages were completely isolated due to rising floodwaters, cutting off access routes. By the morning of June 18, more than 11,100 residents had to evacuate urgently, with 5 fatalities and at least 15 individuals reported missing.
Maichau City “transformed into a sea” due to the largest flood in the region’s history.
By 7 AM on June 17, according to information from Southern Power Corporation, Maichau branch, there were still 137,969 households in the city without electricity. Many areas remained isolated, and damage assessments were not yet possible.
“I have never witnessed such heavy rain. The floodwaters came rushing down like a waterfall, lasting all day long,” said Vương Thăng, a resident of Đường Ốc Lĩnh village, Tân Phô town, Maichau City. His family of three has been trapped on the third floor since June 16 due to rising floodwaters. Phone signals were unstable, sometimes available and sometimes not. Vương added that not only his village but many other riverside areas in Maichau were heavily flooded as well.
The lives of residents are completely stalled due to heavy rain.
Residents and rescue teams must navigate by boat.
Meanwhile, Trương Lệ, a resident of Trà Dương town, Đại Bộ district, reported that the heavy rain has caused the river near her house to rise significantly, resulting in severe flooding. Transportation has been disrupted, and communication has been interrupted. Lệ recounted: “Around 11 PM to midnight last night, we received a notification of water discharge, urging residents to quickly evacuate to safety.” Due to the large number of elderly and young children in the village, everyone quickly evacuated to relatives’ homes or moved to higher ground to avoid the floods.
In Bình Viễn, one of the hardest-hit areas, heavy rain caused landslides, severe traffic blockages, and landslides occurred.
Many roads have been eroded.
According to meteorological monitoring data, the average rainfall across Maichau City was 52.3mm, with Bình Viễn district recording the highest average rainfall of 179.1mm. Currently, a red storm warning—the highest level—remains in effect.
Additionally, CCTV reported that the three rivers in Maichau City, including the Thạch Quật River, Tùng Nguyên River, and Sai Can River, have all exceeded the red alert level. Many sections of the rivers have overflowed. Some small reservoirs have surpassed permissible limits or even burst.
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