On August 21st, Guangdong experienced heavy to severe rainfall in multiple areas, leading to internal flooding in many streets in the urban area of Guangzhou. A suspected death due to electric shock occurred in the Dalong Street, Jiangdong Village of Panyu District. The topic of “Guangdong heavy rainfall” trended on Weibo.
For several consecutive days, Guangdong has been experiencing frequent rainfall, with most cities and counties in the province facing heavy to severe rainfall and locally even torrential rain. Guangzhou witnessed continuous heavy rain from the evening of the 20th, with a brief respite on the morning of the 21st, before resuming heavy rainfall around noon. As of 10:00 on the 21st, the average rainfall in the province was 172.6 millimeters. Dongguan, Heyuan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, and other cities received substantial rainfall, with Tangcheng Road in Dongguan recording the highest cumulative rainfall of 549.3 millimeters.
Due to the heavy rainfall, severe flooding occurred on various roads in Guangzhou, causing significant traffic congestion in some areas. In Tianhe District, water levels reached knee-deep in certain road sections, while numerous shops in Panyu District were inundated and vehicles submerged.
Mr. Zheng, who works in the Tianhe Road business district in central Guangzhou, expressed surprise at the prolonged and intensifying rainfall. He mentioned that in his nearly 10 years of working there, it was the first time he witnessed flooding on Tianhe Road. A local resident shared on social media that in the noon of the 21st, the water levels in Shipai, Tianhe District, had reached chest-high.
A longtime resident of Guangzhou, Chen, remarked on the unusual duration of the heavy rainfall, stating that the flooding outside his home had reached an adult’s calf level, making it unsafe to venture outside.
The intense rainfall also resulted in severe flooding at a low-lying section of 7th Alley on Xinxing Street, Huangpu District, where a living room of a residential house was inundated, leaving two children briefly trapped.
A resident from Panyu expressed distress over the flooding of their two cars and home. They voiced concerns about recurrent incidents of flooding in recent years, attributing it to potential issues with the drainage system.
Due to the street flooding, the Panyu District Emergency Management Bureau reported a suspected death by electric shock incident around 11:30 am on the 21st at the Jiangcheng Road near the Jiangdong Village in Dalong Street. A local resident mentioned that there were multiple incidents in the vicinity on the same day.
On August 20th, Dongguan also experienced flooding on various road sections, leading to the temporary closure of tourist sites like Yinping Mountain Forest Park, Dalingshan Mountain Forest Park, and the Dongguan Agarwood Cultural Museum. By 10:40 am on the 21st, the water depth at the entrance to the Old Train Station Tunnel in Hengli Town reached 2.17 meters, while severe flooding was observed at the Venice Plaza in Dongguan.
Furthermore, certain sections of roads around the Honghua Lake in Huizhou were temporarily closed, while some vehicles were swept away due to flash floods in parts of Meizhou. Seven road sections suffered damages from water erosion in Heyuan.
The rainfall disrupted both land and air transportation, leading to delays and cancellations. Several trains on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen and Guangzhou-Shanwei lines experienced delays and suspensions. As of 5:00 pm on the 21st, Baiyun Airport reported delays of over an hour for 67 outbound flights, while 87 outbound and 97 inbound flights were canceled. The airport issued a yellow alert for widespread flight delays.
According to the weather forecast, Guangzhou is expected to continue experiencing moderate to heavy rain on August 22nd, with a gradual decrease in rainfall starting from August 23rd and a rise in temperature.