Heavy rains batter south China's Guangxi

Heavy rain continued to batter south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Tuesday, causing severe flooding on streets, traffic disruptions and damage to dikes.

The city of Fangchenggang renewed a red alert for extreme rainfall on Tuesday afternoon, as the precipitation in some counties, which started on Sunday, was forecast to reach 60-100 millimeters.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

The region's capital city of Nanning raised an orange alert for heavy rain on Tuesday afternoon.

Over the past 24 hours, the city of Hezhou has experienced torrential downpours, with many residents and vehicles stranded in knee-deep water.

Water levels in rivers in the city have risen rapidly, with a tributary of the Guijiang River peaking at 70.22 meters on Tuesday morning, surpassing the warning mark by 2.02 meters.

The heavy downpour caused severe flooding in downtown Fengshan County in Hechi City, leaving many low-lying street shops inundated and their goods soaked.

The extreme rainfall also led to the collapse of township roads and severe flooding of farmlands in the county. Local authorities have dispatched machinery and personnel to clean up mud, repair roads and transfer trapped residents.

From 16:00 on Sunday to 16:00 on Monday, the torrential rain lashed more than 202 towns in nine cities in Guangxi, with six counties in three cities in the region experiencing severe flooding.

As a result, about 23,120 people in the region have been affected, with hundreds of them being relocated to safe areas.

(Cover: Water level of the Hejiang River rises in Hezhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China, June 4, 2024. /CFP)