Typhoon Wutip: Early evacuation saves 57 from landslide in Guangdong

Typhoon Wutip, the first typhoon of 2025, struck Xinyi City in south China's Guangdong Province on the evening of June 14, triggering heavy precipitation across the city's Guizi Town.

Xinyi is located northeast of Zhanjiang City, where Typhoon Wutip made its second landfall at 12:30 a.m. on June 14.

At 4 a.m. on June 15, a landslide triggered by continuous heavy rainfall from Typhoon Wutip occurred in Xinyi's Lian'er Village. Thanks to early warnings and timely evacuations, all 57 residents from 25 households were safely relocated, preventing potential casualties.

At 5 p.m. on June 13, the Maoming Natural Resources Bureau and Maoming Meteorological Bureau had jointly issued a Level II geological disaster risk warning for Xinyi.

Upon the warning's release, the Geological Disaster Monitoring Center of Maoming Natural Resources Bureau immediately alerted the Maoming Emergency Management Bureau, Xinyi Municipal Government and Xinyi Natural Resources Bureau through emergency calls.

Facing severe weather risks, municipal and county authorities swiftly mobilized resources, conducting comprehensive risk inspections using detailed hazard prevention maps, including the "one map per town" and "one map, one table per village" systems.

During a midnight patrol on June 15, inspectors detected abnormal slope movements and reported the imminent landslide threat to local officials. The government acted promptly, evacuating all 57 villagers before the landslide occurred at 4 a.m. No casualties were reported.

Following the incident, Maoming and Xinyi authorities activated emergency protocols, sealing off the affected area with warning barriers and deploying patrols to restrict access. The Maoming Natural Resources Bureau dispatched a team for on-site assessment.

China has a four-tier weather warning system for geological disasters, with level I being the most severe warning.

(Cover: An aerial photo of the post-disaster site in Lian'er Village, Guangdong Province, south China, June 15, 2025. /Department of Natural Resource of Guangdong Province)