Summary of Key Points
Recently, Guangxi has been hit by severe flooding caused by the typhoon "Metsak," with the affected areas divided into two parts:
1. The reservoirs in the Yujiang River basin (including Hengzhou and Guigang) collapsed or overflowed due to torrential rains.
2. The Beibu Gulf region (Qinzhou and Fangchenggang) experienced both heavy rainfall and seawater intrusion as a result of the typhoon making a second landfall.
Additionally, the remnants of the typhoon caused tornadoes in Hubei, and the super typhoon "Bawee" is about to make landfall in the eastern part of China, posing a severe weather threat this summer.
1. Why wasn't the disaster in Guangxi noticed earlier?
Guangxi itself has a low presence on the internet, and the affected areas are particularly remote. Hengzhou is the easternmost county-level city in Nanning, and Guigang is not a major city within Guangxi. The problematic reservoirs (such as the Liulan Reservoir) are located in remote towns that receive little attention. Initially, only videos of the flooding were shared on a small scale before being reported by major media outlets. In short, a less well-known area was hit by a major disaster, and it didn't catch public attention until later.
2. Why couldn't the reservoirs in the Yujiang River basin withstand the heavy rains?
These reservoirs were built in the 1950s and 1960s using traditional "homogeneous earth dams" made of clay, which rely on the clay's natural water-retaining properties for protection. When the rainwater levels exceeded the dam crest, the clay was washed away, leading to rapid collapse. The rainfall was particularly intense; the Liulan Reservoir's catchment area received nearly its total capacity (over 90 million cubic meters) in just one day, and the drainage systems were insufficient to handle the excess water. To make matters worse, the flooding also released snakes from local snake farms, posing an additional danger to those trying to escape.
3. Why did the Beibu Gulf region suffer a "double blow"?
Typhoon "Metsak" deviated from its usual path: instead of moving towards Guangdong after passing over Hainan, it headed directly north into the Beibu Gulf (Qinzhou and Fangchenggang). This led to two problems:
- The second landfall brought even more intense rainfall (800 millimeters in 48 hours in Qinnan District, equivalent to a year's worth of precipitation for northern cities),
- The typhoon also caused seawater intrusion, flooding the areas. As a result, the damage in the Beibu Gulf was more direct and severe than in the Yujiang River basin.
4. Did the remnants of the typhoon affect Hubei as well?
Although "Metsak" mainly affected Guangxi, its remnants caused strong convective weather in Hubei, resulting in a tornado that killed several people in Huanggang. This shows that the typhoon had an impact beyond its immediate area.
5. What other challenges lie ahead?
The typhoon season has just begun: the super typhoon "Bawee" (with winds of level 16 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) is moving towards eastern China and is expected to make landfall this weekend. What's more concerning is that this is only the second typhoon to hit China so far this year, indicating that there may be more to come. This summer, people will need to be prepared for extreme weather conditions.
(The entire analysis is written in plain language to help non-experts understand the causes of the disasters and the potential risks involved.)