Recent days, heavy rainfall and flooding have struck multiple areas in Guizhou, with severe disasters reported in Luodian County. On June 18th, Luodian County experienced an extreme downpour, with some areas receiving up to 220 millimeters of rainfall in a single day. This led to rapid flooding of roads and the formation of swift mudslides, washing away numerous vehicles and causing floodwater to backflow into residential buildings.
According to information released by the Guizhou Provincial Meteorological Bureau, from 6:00 on June 18th to 6:00 on June 19th, Longping Town in Luodian, Qiannan Prefecture, recorded a rainfall amount of 220.3 millimeters.
Videos uploaded by local residents depict torrential overnight rains in Luodian, where floodwaters swiftly gathered on roads, submerging low-lying sections. Electric and sedan cars parked or driving along the roads were swept away, with some sedans ending up in river channels, lying disheveled or floating about.
In the urban area, large trees collapsed on some sidewalks, shops were flooded, numerous buildings were surrounded by floodwaters, leading to backflow, and the city’s transportation system was momentarily paralyzed, highlighting the severity of the disaster.
Another video showed a white sedan upturned inside a trench in Longping Town, Luodian. The car’s body was entangled with branches and mud, with several nearby cars immersed in water, damaged from collisions, and a large number of electric cars swept away.
By 22:00 on the 18th, the Flood Control and Drought Relief Command in Luodian County raised the flood prevention emergency response from level four to level three. At 00:31 on the 19th, the Luodian County Meteorological Observatory upgraded the orange rainstorm warning to red.
Around 9:00 on the 19th, the Luodian County government stated that there were no reports of casualties yet, and the specific property losses were still being assessed.
As of the evening of the 19th, some of the accumulated floodwaters in the urban area had receded. The streets still bore a large amount of debris and damaged vehicles, with some cars severely deformed and filled with mud, sand, and weeds. Surveillance footage from some shops showed outdoor items being swept away by the water, with reports of short-circuited power lines causing flashes of fire.
On the morning of June 20th, the China Meteorological Administration continued to issue a yellow rainstorm warning, forecasting heavy to extremely heavy rainfall (250-300 millimeters) in parts of northern Guangxi, southeastern Guizhou, southwestern Hunan, and other areas from 8:00 on the 20th to 8:00 on the 21st.