Thousands evacuated as flood hits China
Published: 04:06 PM,Jun 18,2025 | EDITED : 08:06 PM,Jun 18,2025
People ride a motorcycle through a flooded street in Zhongshan, China. — AFP
BEIJING: Nearly 70,000 people in southern China have been evacuated after heavy flooding caused by Typhoon Wutip, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday. Vast areas of Zhaoqing city in Guangdong province were submerged, with floodwaters inundating shopfronts and covering roads. Rescuers pushed stranded cars out of the water and used dinghies to transport residents to safety.
The flooding had affected 183,000 residents in Zhaoqing's Huaiji county, with the city mobilising more than 10,000 rescue personnel, state media outlet Xinhua reported. The flooding affected much of Guangdong province and the neighbouring Guangxi region. Footage showed rescuers in Guangxi dragging a rubber boat crammed with people through knee-deep water as heavy rain continued to fall.
Typhoon Wutip, China's first typhoon of the year, made landfall on the island province of Hainan last Friday, before moving to Guangdong on Saturday. It brought winds gusting up to 128 kilometres per hour before weakening to a severe tropical storm at the weekend. Rainfall in some areas had surpassed 100 millimetres, according to the China Meteorological Administration. — AFP
The flooding had affected 183,000 residents in Zhaoqing's Huaiji county, with the city mobilising more than 10,000 rescue personnel, state media outlet Xinhua reported. The flooding affected much of Guangdong province and the neighbouring Guangxi region. Footage showed rescuers in Guangxi dragging a rubber boat crammed with people through knee-deep water as heavy rain continued to fall.
Typhoon Wutip, China's first typhoon of the year, made landfall on the island province of Hainan last Friday, before moving to Guangdong on Saturday. It brought winds gusting up to 128 kilometres per hour before weakening to a severe tropical storm at the weekend. Rainfall in some areas had surpassed 100 millimetres, according to the China Meteorological Administration. — AFP