Typhoon Maysak triggers highest flood alert in China's Nanning

Nanning, home to 9.0166 million permanent residents at the end of 2025, raised its flood-control emergency response to Level I at 11:30 a.m. on July 6 as Typhoon Maysak’s rain bands swelled rivers and reservoirs across Guangxi.

China’s Ministry of Water Resources warned on June 2 that June precipitation in parts of south and southwest China could run 10% to 20% above normal and said the flood situation could be “grim and complex.” On July 2, the ministry activated a Level-IV flood emergency response for Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan ahead of heavy rainfall forecast through July 6.

By Saturday evening, Guangxi’s hydrology center recorded 29 rivers and 36 hydrological stations across the region above flood-warning levels, by as much as 4.10 meters. A severe breach at a reservoir in Hengzhou, in Nanning City, triggered an immediate escalation and evacuations, while three reservoirs in Nanning were at flood-related risk and residents were being moved out of danger. The storm slowed after crossing Vietnam and Hainan, worsening the rainfall threat because the system was unloading moisture gathered over the South China Sea farther inland.

In Guigang, about 170 miles away, floodwater covered a road so completely it looked like a lake, and brown torrents ran downhill into a construction site. Verified video from Fangchenggang showed a car being swept down a street while a man struggled to keep his electric scooter from being carried away.

A 2025 flood-response notice kept rescue forces on standby with assault boats, life jackets and drainage equipment, and hospitals would open green channels for flood victims. Liuwang Reservoir and Liulan Reservoir remained under close watch, and rainfall was expected to ease later in the day.