After the strong winds and heavy rain brought by Typhoon “Butterfly” have just subsided, the Pearl River Delta region is now experiencing another round of seasonal rainfall due to the monsoon. On June 17 (Tuesday), the southern coastal areas of Guangdong Province experienced widespread heavy to torrential rain, with some areas facing severe downpours. Due to the continuous rainfall in recent days, many areas in Guangdong have witnessed dangerous situations such as flooding exceeding the warning levels and landslides.
On the 17th, many netizens in Huaiji County, Zhaoqing City, Guangdong, posted videos claiming that the county seat of Huaiji and multiple areas in Zhongzhou Town were flooded as the floodwaters swept through.
The video footage showed many vehicles parked along the road submerged in water, ground-floor shops in lower-lying areas flooded, and numerous goods washed away by the floodwaters.
A villager from Zhongzhou Town, Huaiji County, told Red Star News on the 17th that the rain was still pouring, and the water was close to flooding up to the second floor of their self-built house. The electrical appliances and furniture on the ground floor were already severely waterlogged.
Another villager mentioned that the water level was rising quickly, and the fish and shrimp ponds he was breeding had merged with the surrounding ponds.
According to public information, Huaiji County is located in the northwest part of Guangdong, being the largest county in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in terms of area and population exceeding a million residents.
An announcement from Huaiji County on the 16th stated that due to the impact of Typhoon “Butterfly,” the county had experienced continuous heavy rainfall in the past few days, causing rapid rises in river levels. The Suijiang Huaiji Station recorded a peak water level of 52.8 meters on June 15 at 18:00 (warning level at 50.0 meters), leading to multiple areas in the county being affected by flooding.
As of 9:00 on the 17th, the current round of typhoon-induced heavy rainfall disasters had affected 19 towns in Huaiji County, affecting 18,213 people and necessitating the evacuation of 9,022 people to safety.
By 6:50 on the 18th, the Zhaoqing Hydrological Sub-bureau in Guangdong Province measured a water level of 55.2 meters at the Suijiang Huaiji Station, surpassing the historical record of 54.79 meters set on July 22, 1955, marking the highest flood in history since the station was established.
Due to the heavy rainfall, primary and secondary schools (kindergartens included) in the entire county continued to suspend classes on the 18th, and the flood warning response level was raised from Level III to Level II as of midnight. For the low-lying flooded areas in Huaiji City, emergency measures were taken to shut down power lines for safety.
Furthermore, according to CCTV News reports, the ongoing rainfall has caused waterlogging in various road sections and trees to fall in the city center of Shaoguan, Guangdong, leading to the suspension of classes in Xinfeng and Wengyuan counties.
The Guangdong Meteorological Bureau forecasts that on the 18th, precipitation in most parts of Guangdong will gradually weaken.