Flooding driven by Tropical Storm Maysak killed 39 people in southern China's Guangxi region, with most deaths tied to the partial collapse of a reservoir dam that sent floodwaters surging through the city of Hengzhou, according to The Associated Press.
Ding Wei, vice mayor of Nanning city — which holds jurisdiction over Hengzhou — told reporters at a news briefing that 26 of the 39 fatalities resulted from the dam's partial collapse, which unleashed floodwaters across the city. Nine people remained missing across the broader region. Beginning last Saturday, Tropical Storm Maysak deluged Guangxi with record-breaking rainfall, overwhelming reservoirs and leaving residents trapped in their homes and other structures for days. The region's death toll had been reported at just six as of Tuesday.
More than 10,000 students and teachers stranded at a group of schools in Guigang city — located about 60 kilometers northeast of Hengzhou — were successfully evacuated by rescue teams. Authorities mobilized roughly 5,700 boats and drone units to reach stranded residents and deliver essential supplies, while the total number of people moved out of affected zones reached approximately 130,000.
Hundreds of snakes, including cobras, escaped from flooded breeding farms in Hengzhou, according to The Guardian. Emergency guidance published by the Hengzhou Media Convergence Centre cautioned residents that species such as cobras, kraits, and green pit vipers — displaced by rising waters — posed a risk of turning up in residential buildings, stairwells, and along the edges of waterways. In response to the incidents, Hengzhou People's Hospital — the city's designated center for snakebite care — expanded its antivenom stockpiles and established a priority intake pathway for affected patients.
According to the AP, over 100 animals had vanished from a Guigang zoo, among them two zebras and four porcupines. In Binyang county, the operator of an animal shelter worked frantically to bring roughly 200 cats and scores of dogs to safety, ferrying the dogs out in pairs while the cats retreated to the rafters as the water climbed.
The national meteorological center reported that parts of Guangxi received between 4 and 16 inches of rain overall, while the most severely affected areas saw totals exceeding 35 inches, according to the AP. While Ding noted that water levels were gradually falling, he cautioned that certain areas could see further rainfall within the next two days. Power had been reconnected to more than 60,000 households, with crews continuing to work on damaged roads.