On May 18, heavy rain suddenly poured down on Shizai Town, Cangwu County, Wuzhou City, Guangxi Province, causing multiple vehicles to be washed away by the floodwaters. Local residents exclaimed that they had never seen such a heavy rain before.
According to a report by JiMu News citing official sources, on May 18, torrential rain fell in localized areas of Shizai Town, with rainfall at the Shizai Town meteorological observation station exceeding 140 millimeters in just 2 hours.
A netizen posted a video showing that the flood in Shizai Town was overflowing, and multiple cars were swept away by the floodwaters. The video depicted floodwaters flowing like a river along a residential building, with several cars in the parking lot being washed away. In the video, a resident stood in the water trying to tie a rope around a car to prevent it from being carried away.
A staff member from an auto repair shop in Shizai Town confirmed on the 19th that indeed, several cars were swept away by the floodwaters, and even the cars in their shop were soaked.
Another resident from Shizai Town mentioned, “I’m in my forties and I’ve never seen such heavy rain.” The heavy rain started around 1 p.m. on the 18th and lasted until around 3 p.m., with light rain still falling at present.
The resident stated that the areas near the river were most affected, and there are still cars not yet recovered from the river.
According to official reports, the heavy rain triggered landslides, collapses, and other secondary disasters in several villages including Dachang, Wangshui, Senguan, Gudong, Longjiang, and the Shizai community, all experiencing varying degrees of impact. As of 6 p.m. on the 18th, preliminary statistics showed that around 10 mu of crops were affected, with approximately 120 meters of roads collapsed, 10 bridges severed, 60 houses impacted, 47 vehicles urgently relocated, 15 vehicles damaged by water, 330 affected individuals, and over 100 people evacuated for emergency shelter.
Prior to this incident, Guangxi had been suffering from a drought since November 2024. Monitoring results from the Guangxi Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on April 17 showed that 97.5% of Guangxi was experiencing meteorological drought, with 68.7% in a severe drought. The drought mainly concentrated in the southern parts of Guilin and Liuzhou cities, as well as in Hechi, Baise, Hezhou, Laibin, Guigang, Nanning, Wuzhou, Yulin, and Qinzhou. The drought had certain impacts on drinking water for humans and livestock, agricultural production, with the forest fire risk level being high, and some towns facing risks in water supply. On April 19 at 6 p.m., the Guangxi Water Resources Department activated a Level Three emergency response to the drought.
Guangxi’s drought affects 97.5% of the area, impacting residents’ water supply and agricultural production.
Video footage of Guangxi’s drought being deleted, as residents seek rain, videos are debunked.