Typhoon Shadel Hits 128,500 in Jiangxi, Flood Alert Raised
Typhoon Shadel has caused disaster conditions affecting 128,500 people across 53 counties in Jiangxi Province, according to Xinhua News. The storm, which has become the most impactful typhoon to hit Jiangxi this year, prompted authorities to activate a Level IV flood control emergency response on September 4 as rivers swelled to dangerous levels.
A Typhoon That Refused to Die
What makes Typhoon Shadel particularly unusual is its extraordinary trajectory. The 18th named storm of the 2026 Pacific typhoon season made three separate landfalls in China—twice in Zhejiang Province on August 28 and once more in Fujian Province on September 3. After weakening to a tropical depression and being de-numbered by meteorological authorities, its residual vortex strengthened again in the South China Sea and redeveloped into a typhoon on September 1—a historically rare “resurrection” phenomenon.
According to Jiemian News, meteorologists attribute this unusual behavior to a confluence of factors. National Climate Center Chief Forecaster Gu Wei noted that a strong El Niño event was underway, with sea surface temperature anomalies approaching super-El Niño levels—only the fourth such event in over 70 years of meteorological records. The typhoon’s slow movement and its collision with an early cold air outbreak and an active southwest monsoon triggered exceptionally intense rainfall across multiple provinces.
Flood Emergency in Jiangxi
The impact on Jiangxi has been severe. Between September 1 and September 4, the province received an average of 53 millimeters of rainfall. The downpours caused the “Gan River 2026 No. 1 Flood” to form in the middle reaches of the province’s largest river on September 4, as reported by China News Service. The river level at Ji’an station rose to 50.51 meters, exceeding the warning level, while the Gan River basin received an average of 77 millimeters of rainfall during the same period.
The Gan River Middle Reaches Hydrological and Water Resources Monitoring Center issued a red flood warning for the Shu River section at Linkeng in Wan’an County, predicting flooding 3.1 meters above warning level. In Nanchang, the provincial capital, the Gan River surged with turbid yellow water, flooding low-lying areas along its banks.
In response to the escalating situation, the Jiangxi Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters activated a Level IV flood control emergency response at 11:00 AM on September 4, as confirmed by Phoenix News Jiangxi. The directive requires all localities and departments to fully implement flood control measures according to their designated responsibilities.
Coordinated National Response
The emergency response has been coordinated at multiple levels of government. The Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level IV flood defense emergency response for Jiangxi on September 3, directing provincial water authorities to closely monitor the typhoon’s impact, strengthen forecasting and early warning systems, and ensure the safety of reservoirs and small and medium-sized rivers.
Earlier, on August 28, the National Flood Control Headquarters and Ministry of Emergency Management had already activated a Level IV flood control emergency response for both Jiangxi and Hunan provinces, as reported by China News Service. The preemptive measures proved crucial as the storm system continued to develop.
Regional Devastation
The typhoon’s impact has extended well beyond Jiangxi. In Fujian Province, authorities evacuated 247,700 people as the storm approached, according to Xinhua News. The province experienced severe flooding in Putian, where torrential rainfall exceeding 500 millimeters in some areas caused house collapses and trapped hundreds of workers in flooded shoe factories. In Hunan Province, 12,512 people were affected in Yanling County alone, with two deaths and two people reported missing. Heavy rainfall also impacted parts of Guangdong, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces.
Ongoing Risks and Outlook
While rainfall in Jiangxi is expected to weaken significantly on September 5, with only scattered showers forecast for parts of southern Jiangxi, authorities warn that risks remain elevated. Due to the large cumulative rainfall in central and southern Jiangxi and overlapping rainstorm areas, the danger of geological disasters, flooding of small and medium-sized rivers, and mountain torrents persists.
Jiangxi authorities have urged all localities and departments to closely monitor forecast warnings and strengthen disaster prevention efforts. The province’s emergency response infrastructure—honed through multiple flood control operations earlier in 2026, including responses to Typhoon Baidolphin in August—will continue to be tested as the region assesses the full extent of the damage.
As the region begins its recovery, the broader implications of Typhoon Shadel’s unprecedented behavior serve as a stark reminder of the challenges posed by a warming climate. With 23 typhoons having formed in the first eight months of 2026—approaching the average annual total—and extreme weather events becoming more frequent, China’s disaster preparedness systems face an increasingly demanding season.