On the evening of May 15, torrential rain hit Ganzhou City and Ji’an in Jiangxi Province, causing widespread flooding. The heavy rainfall resulted in multiple counties and districts in Ganzhou being submerged, with vehicles and roads being inundated by floodwaters and some areas experiencing landslides.
According to a report by CCTV News on May 16, the rain started on the 15th and intensified around 10 p.m. The meteorological department reported that from 8 a.m. on the 15th to 8 a.m. on the 16th, 43 stations in the western part of Ganzhou experienced heavy rain, with 19 counties and districts recording rainfall at 142 stations. The Yumei Shuiyangtian station recorded the highest rainfall of 237 millimeters.
The rainfall led to flooding in multiple counties and cities in Ganzhou, with vehicles swept away, roads submerged, and localized landslides affecting traffic flow.
A resident from Dongshan Town in Shangyou County, Ganzhou City, stated that the water level in the neighborhood continued to rise, and electricity supply was cut off. The accumulated water was estimated to be over 1 to 2 meters, almost submerging the roofs of private cars.
Local residents shared videos of the flooding on social media. In one video, cars were seen drifting in swift floodwaters. A middle-aged woman said, “I built my house in 2014 and have never seen water this high. My whole family is staying on the upper floor now, and the water is still rising.” In the video, a man stood inside a house with floodwaters flowing around him, reaching almost to his waist.
The Jiangxi Provincial Meteorological Observatory issued an orange rainstorm warning at 5:38 a.m. on the 16th, predicting that within the next 3 hours, some areas of Chongyi County, Shangyou County, and Dayu County in Ganzhou may experience rainfall exceeding 50 millimeters, accompanied by short-duration heavy rains, thunderstorms, and other severe convective weather.
At 9:02 a.m. on the 16th, the forecast was downgraded to a yellow warning signal, indicating that within the next 6 hours, some areas in the western part of Ganzhou may receive rainfall exceeding 50 millimeters. Localized short-duration heavy rains and severe convective weather are expected, with the possibility of heavy rainfall triggering urban and rural flooding, small to medium-sized river flooding, flash floods, and geological disasters.