Typhoon forces evacuation of hundreds of residents in southern China

The city of Nanning, capital of the southern Chinese region of Guangxi, raised its flood control alert to the maximum level after rivers and reservoirs overflowed with the passage of Typhoon Maysak, Chinese state media reported on Monday (6).

Authorities in Nanning, a city of nearly 9 million people, have raised the flood emergency response level from III to I due to "extremely heavy rain", according to state broadcaster CCTV.

So far, a medium-sized reservoir had burst in Hengzhou, a municipality administered by Nanning, and residents of the region were being evacuated, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing local authorities.

Typhoon Maysak hit the southern Chinese island province of Hainan on Friday, becoming the first tropical cyclone to make landfall on the Chinese mainland this year. On Sunday, the storm hit Vietnam, a country that borders Guangxi.

According to Chinese meteorologists, Maysak is expected to lose strength as it moves inland, but the storm's remnants and seasonal rains from the southwest will continue to bring heavy precipitation in Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan and other regions.

Rescue teams have pulled hundreds of people from flooded areas in southern China, CCTV reported on Monday.

Authorities mobilized emergency teams to evacuate stranded residents from their homes as rising water levels flooded villages and urban streets. In the city of Fangchenggang, CCTV footage showed a flooded residential area, where rescuers used boats to transport residents.

Chinese meteorological authorities have warned that the risk of flash floods and landslides remains high as Maysak moves inland.

Source: CNN