China Mobilizes for Typhoon Maysak, Floods and Drought
China has entered a critical phase of its 2026 disaster season, with authorities across the country intensifying flood control, drought relief, and emergency rescue operations as a complex weather crisis unfolds simultaneously across multiple regions. On July 3, Typhoon Maysak — the 10th typhoon of the year and the first to make landfall in China in 2026 — struck Hainan Province, while southern and central provinces grapple with extreme rainfall and the northwest faces a deepening drought, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Context: A Nation Under Weather Stress
China officially entered its main flood season on July 1, 2026, with the Ministry of Water Resources issuing targeted early warnings to 14 provinces. The country is experiencing what officials describe as a “simultaneous flood and drought” scenario — a pattern amplified by the onset of El Niño conditions, which the National Climate Center predicted would begin in May 2026 and develop into a moderate-to-strong event by summer and autumn, as reported by the Economic Daily.
On June 30, President Xi Jinping chaired a special meeting of the CCP Central Committee Politburo to deploy flood control and drought relief efforts nationwide, calling for “bottom-line thinking” and “extreme thinking” in disaster preparedness. The meeting underscored the high priority Beijing places on protecting lives and property during what is expected to be an unusually challenging disaster season.
Typhoon Maysak Strikes Hainan
Typhoon Maysak made landfall at approximately 18:20 on July 3 in Lingshui County, Hainan Province, with maximum sustained winds of 9 levels (23 meters per second), according to the China News Service. The storm brought torrential rain and severe disruption: the Qiongzhou Strait was closed to all shipping, Sanya Phoenix International Airport suspended flight operations from 17:00 on July 3, and all coastal and mountain scenic spots in the region were shut down. Projected rainfall accumulations in parts of Hainan reached up to 350 millimeters.
The storm’s impact is expected to extend beyond Hainan. Guangdong Province is bracing for heavy rainfall from July 4 through July 7, with the Pearl River Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters raising its emergency response from Level IV to Level III.
Southern Floods and Northwestern Drought
While the typhoon draws attention to the south, a broader crisis is unfolding across China. Provinces including Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and Chongqing have experienced concentrated, intense, and widespread rainfall, triggering mountain floods, urban waterlogging, and reservoir safety concerns.
Local authorities have mobilized grassroots response teams. In Jiangxi’s De’an County, Party members formed emergency rescue teams to evacuate trapped residents. In Anhui’s Huangshan City, over 40 residents were safely evacuated from flood-threatened areas. Reservoir inspectors across the region have been placed on 24-hour double-shift rotations, with flood control materials and rescue personnel on standby.
At the same time, a severe drought is gripping the northwest. On July 3, Gansu Province activated a Drought Defense Level IV Emergency Response for five cities — Jiuquan, Zhangye, Jinchang, Wuwei, and Baiyin. June temperatures in the province were 0.6°C above average, and river flows were 30 percent below normal, according to Xinhua. Local farmers are turning to under-film drip irrigation technology to cope with the water shortage.
Coordinated Emergency Response
China’s disaster response system has been fully activated. As of July 3, the National Flood Control Headquarters maintained Level IV emergency responses for flood and typhoon prevention in Hainan, Guangxi, and Guangdong, and Level IV flood responses for Hunan and Yunnan. Two working groups have been dispatched to Hainan and Guangxi to assist with on-the-ground operations.
The China Aneng Group, a specialized emergency rescue engineering force, has deployed 2,200 professional rescue personnel to 25 standby points across Hubei, Anhui, Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Guangxi. The China Meteorological Administration is working to improve extreme weather monitoring and forecasting capabilities, with a focus on building a new generation of early warning systems.
Analysis: Climate Change and El Niño Amplify Risks
The 2026 disaster season highlights the growing challenge of climate adaptation in China. The “simultaneous flood and drought” pattern — with extreme rainfall in the south and drought in the northwest — is consistent with the expected impacts of El Niño on China’s weather systems. El Niño typically increases rainfall in the Yangtze River basin while reducing precipitation in northern and northeastern regions.
Chai Fuxin of the Ministry of Water Resources has described a “one increase, three random” pattern: an increased frequency of extreme events, with random locations, timing, and intensity. This unpredictability places enormous strain on infrastructure, agriculture, and emergency response systems.
The combination of southern floods and northwestern drought could have significant implications for China’s grain production, potentially affecting domestic food prices and import requirements. Agricultural regions in both the flood-affected south and drought-stricken northwest face crop losses that may ripple through supply chains.
What’s Next
As the main flood season continues through July and August, China faces an extended period of heightened disaster risk. The El Niño event is expected to intensify during the summer and autumn, potentially increasing the frequency and severity of typhoons and extreme rainfall events. Authorities have emphasized the need for continued vigilance, with the Politburo calling for sustained preparedness and rapid response capabilities.
The coming weeks will test the resilience of China’s disaster management infrastructure and its capacity to coordinate a multi-front response to what is shaping up to be one of the most complex weather crises in recent years.