Guangxi Floods: 39 Dead, 9 Missing After Typhoon Maysak
Severe flooding triggered by Typhoon Maysak and compounded by the breach of two aging reservoirs in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has claimed at least 39 lives, with nine people still missing, according to official figures released at a press conference on July 9. Over 64,500 residents have been relocated across Nanning’s jurisdictions, while more than 5,000 students stranded by floodwaters have been safely evacuated and returned home via rail.
Context: A Perfect Storm
Typhoon Maysak, the 10th named storm of the 2026 Pacific typhoon season, made landfall in Hainan Province on July 3 before sweeping into Guangxi, where it unleashed persistent extreme rainfall from July 4 to 6. The deluge caused 65 rivers with 82 monitoring stations to exceed warning levels, and the Yu River formed its first major flood of the year. Over 370,000 people were affected across the region.
The disaster was dramatically worsened when the Liulan and Yunbiao reservoirs—both built in 1958 and classified as medium-sized earth-fill dams—experienced overtopping and breached on July 6, sending torrents of water downstream that destroyed villages including Yabei, Liulan, and Dutian.
Key Developments
According to Xinhua News Agency, Nanning Vice Mayor Ding Wei briefed the third press conference on July 9, reporting that the Liulan Reservoir breach alone accounted for 26 deaths (with five identities still pending confirmation) and seven missing persons. Authorities cautioned that the death toll may change as identity verification continues, noting that “there may be overlap between the deceased and missing persons.”
China News Service reported that both reservoirs’ breach gaps and flow rates have stabilized, with water levels at Liulan Reservoir dropping below the dam foundation rock. The Anneng Group has been involved in expert assessment of the dam structures.
Student Rescue Operation
In one of the more remarkable aspects of the relief effort, over 5,000 students trapped by floodwaters were successfully evacuated. People’s Daily reported that students from Guigang Senior High School and Guangxi Vocational College of Logistics were rescued by PLA, armed police, and firefighters using rubber boats and a power pontoon bridge.
“Yesterday the station transferred about 500 students, but today that number has risen to over 5,000,” said Yu Yongjun, Guigang Station Chief, describing the scale of the operation. Students were transported to Guigang Station, where railway staff coordinated their return journeys on the newly reopened Nanzhu High-Speed Railway and Lizhan Railway lines.
Infrastructure and Economic Fallout
The flooding caused extensive damage to critical infrastructure. Communications base stations in Hengzhou and Binyang achieved 87.7% operational capacity, while 63,000 households had power restored by July 9. Road crews cleared two expressways, six national and provincial highways, and 47 rural roads.
The economic impact has been severe. Guangxi, China’s top sugar-producing region, saw large-scale sugarcane lodging in core production areas. The pig farming sector estimates approximately one million head of output affected, with one farm in Xutang Village losing 16,000 pigs—losses exceeding 50 million yuan. Coastal ports fully closed for methanol shipments, and alumina mining and transport operations were disrupted.
Relief and Recovery
Authorities upgraded the disaster response from Level III to Level II, deploying 4,200 personnel and over 1,300 vehicle trips for cleanup operations. More than 300 professionals have been conducting monitoring and disinfection, with no cluster epidemics or public health emergencies reported to date. Some 100,000 items of clothing and daily necessities have been delivered to affected communities.
The Central Committee and State Council have issued a nationwide notice on flood prevention and drought relief, requiring dynamic risk assessment of key infrastructure including the South-to-North Water Diversion and West-to-East Gas Pipeline projects.
What’s Next
As recovery and reconstruction efforts continue, several critical questions remain. The failure of two 1958-built earth-fill dams will likely prompt nationwide safety inspections of aging reservoir infrastructure. Search operations for the nine missing individuals are ongoing, and authorities continue to warn that casualty figures may change as previously inaccessible areas are reached. The disaster has also reignited discussions about climate adaptation in a region experiencing increasingly frequent extreme weather events.
Volunteers delivering water and bread to trapped residents near Liulan Reservoir, Hengzhou, Guangxi. Credit: Wang Yizhao / China News Service