On the early morning of May 23rd, a sudden flash flood and mudslide disaster occurred in Sanshe Village, Sishui Township, Longsheng County, Guilin City, Guangxi. According to the official reports from the Chinese Communist Party, 10 houses were damaged, 8 people went missing, 3 people were injured, and 1 person died.
Around 5 a.m. on the 23rd, a flash flood and mudslide struck Sanshe Village in Sishui Township, Longsheng County, Guilin City. Initial verification revealed that 10 houses were damaged, 8 people were missing, and 3 people were injured. By around 9 a.m., one trapped individual was rescued, but medical personnel confirmed no signs of life upon examination.
Local netizens shared videos showing the rise in water levels in local waterways, bridges being washed away, and streets resembling flowing rivers.
According to one netizen, “Guangxi has not had rain for almost half a year, and now it’s pouring heavily every day.” Another remarked, “In the rural areas of Longsheng County, Guilin, houses are built on hills made of clay. I found it strange to see houses built on clay hills during my first visit to Longsheng.”
On the previous day, two landslides occurred in Changshi Town of Longshi County and Guowa Township of Fujian County, Guizhou Province around 3 a.m. and 9 a.m., respectively. Officials stated that at least 19 people were trapped. Given the Chinese Communist Party’s tendency to conceal the truth, the actual extent of the disaster remains to be verified.
According to the China Meteorological Administration, since May 14th, most parts of Guangxi have experienced persistent heavy to torrential rains, with some areas even facing extremely heavy rainfall. Delun Town in Beiliu City, Yulin, accumulated rainfall of 533.8 millimeters, causing flooding in nine rivers at nine stations with water levels exceeding the warning line by 0.01 to 1.23 meters.
On May 17th, the Autonomous Region Meteorological Bureau issued a Level IV (blue) rainstorm warning and initiated a Level IV emergency response for major meteorological disasters (rainstorms). Meteorological bureaus in cities and counties such as Yulin, Hezhou, Hechi, Liuzhou, and Nanning activated corresponding emergency responses.
On the morning of the 23rd, the China Central Meteorological Observatory continued to issue a blue alert for severe convective weather. From 8 a.m. on May 23rd to 8 a.m. on May 24th, some areas in the central and eastern parts of Guangxi, eastern Guangdong, and southern regions could experience severe thunderstorms with winds of magnitude 8 or above, or hail. Certain areas in southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, southern and eastern Jiangxi, southern Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and southwest Yunnan might also encounter short but intense rainfall exceeding 20 millimeters per hour. The main impact period of severe convective weather is expected to be today from morning until night.
At 10 a.m. on the 23rd, the observatory issued another blue alert for heavy rainfall: between 2 p.m. on May 23rd and 2 p.m. on May 24th, some regions in southwest Sichuan Plateau, southwest Yunnan, southern and western Guangxi, and southern Guangdong could face heavy to torrential rains, with localized severe rainstorms (100-130 mm) in parts of southwestern Guangxi.