BEIJING, July 7, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The death toll from devastating storms in 
parts of China rose to 15 on Tuesday, with hundreds more injured and tens of 
thousands evacuated, state media reported, as President Xi Jinping urged "all 
out" rescue efforts.

Dramatic video shared by state broadcaster CCTV showed a torrent of muddy 
water rushing past the crumbled concrete walls of a reservoir dam that had 
burst in the southern region of Guangxi.

Rescue workers wearing life vests searched for missing people in inflatable 
boats, state media footage showed, while authorities erected emergency 
shelters to house those displaced.

Intense rain and severe flooding from Typhoon Maysak killed at least four 
people in Guangxi, where authorities raised the flood control emergency 
response to its highest level in the regional capital, Nanning.

At least 50,000 people were evacuated, but eight are still missing.

Videos of villagers knee-deep in floodwater frantically trying to catch 
snakes swimming in a flooded Guangxi town went viral on social media, with a 
related hashtag racking up over 180 million views.

Around 800 to 900 snakes escaped on Monday morning after a breeding farm was 
washed away, Wu Zhi, the head of a local village committee, told state-owned 
media Red Star News.

Thunderstorms and gale-force winds killed another 11 people and injured 331 
in the central province of Hubei, and tornadoes were reported elsewhere late 
on Monday, state news agency Xinhua said.

- 'Intense winds' -

One person is missing in Hubei, Xinhua said, adding that 4,800 houses were 
damaged and 22 more had collapsed.

A man surnamed Wang told local media that his brother-in-law, surnamed Zhang, 
had been "sucked out" of his home in Hubei's Huanggang city by the strong 
winds, and was found unconscious outside his apartment complex, breathing 
only faintly.

"Wall cabinets, sofas, coffee tables, dining tables, and chairs vanished in 
an instant. It was as if the entire building had been hollowed out," Wang 
told the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald.

Xi said on Tuesday that rescuers should "go all out" in organising emergency 
operations, CCTV reported.

Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when 
some regions experience intense rainfall while others bake in scorching heat.

Parts of Guangxi's coastal and eastern regions, as well as southwestern 
Guangdong, will continue to be hit by heavy rain on Wednesday, Minister of 
Water Resources Li Guoying said Tuesday.

Flood peaks "exceeding the warning water level" by more than six metres (20 
feet) are expected at the Guigang Hydrological Station in Guangxi on Tuesday 
evening, Li added.

"Due to the impact of persistent heavy rainfall and the prolonged passage of 
floodwaters at high levels, the safety of reservoirs and embankments in the 
affected areas faces a severe test," he said.

- Landslide buries dozens -

Separately, a landslide in China's northwestern Gansu province killed five 
people on Tuesday, with rescuers working to locate 12 others still missing, 
Xinhua said, without specifying what caused it.

At least 33 people were initially reported missing after the landslide in a 
village near Gansu's Longnan city, it added.

Rescue teams had located 21 trapped individuals but five of them died 
"despite emergency medical efforts", the agency said.

Authorities have set aside 30 million yuan ($4,4 million) in reconstruction 
funds following the landslide.

Scientists warn the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events 
will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel 
emissions.

China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, but it is also a 
global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy 
carbon-neutral by 2060.

At least 22 people were killed in China in May after heavy rains lashed its 
central and southern regions, with some places "hit by record-breaking 
rainfall", state media reported.