Torrential downpours have disrupted schools, transport and rail across the province – peaking at 588.7mm in Shanwei – with 12 cities on flood alert and forecasters expecting the unstable weather to persist until later this week
Over 13,000 evacuated as heavy rain sweeps Guangdong
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Large swathes of Guangdong have been battered by torrential rain in recent days, resulting in the evacuation of 13,283 people across the southern Chinese province as of Sunday (14 June), 8 pm.
In a statement, Guangdong’s Department of Emergency Management said the average rainfall in Guangdong reached 33.9 mm between 13 June (8 pm) and 14 June (8 pm), with much of the rainfall concentrated around Jieyang, Shanwei, Shantou and Huizhou.
The downpour was especially heavy in the Overseas Chinese Administrative District of Shanwei City, where rainfall accumulation reached a peak of 588.7 mm.
Various cities within Guangdong’s Greater Bay Area (GBA) have been impacted. The emergency management department noted that as of 2:20 pm yesterday, twelve cities, including Guangzhou, Huizhou, Zhuhai and Dongguan, as well as 72 counties had activated their flood emergency response system.
Cities such as Shanwei, Meizhou, Jieyang and Shantou raised their response level to tier three, with tier one being the highest level. Meanwhile, Huizhou upgraded its response to level one.
Provincial authorities warn of the possibility of mountain floods, geological hazards and waterlogging in urban areas.
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The rainfall has caused major disruptions across Guangdong. Over 30 flights were postponed at Shenzhen International Airport yesterday due to the unstable weather.
Hong Kong has not been spared, with the city’s observatory forecasting heavy showers “at times in the next couple of days”.
“June is the month with the most amount of rain in the whole year,” Leung Wing Mo, a Hong Kong Meteorological Society spokesman, said in a TVB interview yesterday. “That’s why there are more rainstorm and thunderstorm warnings. It’s part of the normal course of events.”
The rain also forced authorities to cancel multiple high-speed rail services, including 15 trains between West Kowloon Station and Guangzhou South on Sunday.
Looking ahead, the Hong Kong Observatory warned of persistent “heavy showers and squally thunderstorms” along Guangdong’s coast and to the north of the South China Sea over the next few days. It is expecting rainfall to weaken in Guangdong later this week, with “very hot” weather over the weekend and early next week.
Neighbouring Macao has also been affected. The local forecaster warns of “unstable” weather, as well as “persistent heavy showers and frequent thunderstorms”, today and tomorrow.
