GUANGZHOU, China, Aug 8 – Pingtou, a small village in southern China’s Guangdong province, has been hit by the worst flooding in living memory, leaving residents grappling with severe damage and limited relief support.
Knee-deep floodwaters still covered the main road into the village on Friday. Residents were seen removing damaged furniture and appliances from homes, at least four of which collapsed during the heavy rains earlier this week.
“The older folks here say that in the 100 years we’ve been here, they’ve never experienced such flooding,” said Mr. Zhong, a resident in his 50s. Floodwaters entered his two-storey home for the first time, leaving watermarks more than one metre high on nearby houses.
The extent of casualties in Pingtou remains unclear. However, in Guangzhou, the provincial capital, record rainfall between August 2 and 6 reached 622.6 millimetres (24.5 inches) — nearly three times the city’s average monthly rainfall for August. State media confirmed at least seven deaths due to flooding in the city.
China is currently facing extreme weather events across multiple regions, including record rainfall in the north and south and prolonged heatwaves inland. The central government announced 430 million yuan ($59.9 million) in additional disaster relief funding on Thursday, bringing total allocations since April to at least 5.8 billion yuan.
In Pingtou, residents reported insufficient assistance from local authorities. Mr. Zhong stated he was informed that no relief aid was available. “There was not even a bottle of mineral water provided to us,” he said.
Across Guangdong, 75,000 people were evacuated as a precaution. However, several Pingtou villagers said they received no official flood alerts. Zhang, a 73-year-old resident, was awakened during the heaviest rainfall by her daughter-in-law and moved to her son’s two-storey home. The next day, she discovered her own house’s roof had collapsed.
“I’d been living in that house for more than 50 years,” Zhang said, surveying her possessions coated in debris.
Outside the village, fish and duck farmer Hu Songlin reported losing all the fish in his ponds, estimating the loss at 120,000 yuan. “Now we won’t be able to earn a single cent,” said his wife, Hua.
Experts have linked such extreme weather to climate change. Johnny Chan, professor at the City University of Hong Kong’s School of Energy and Environment, explained: “Global warming can lead to heavier rainfall, but there’s only so much water. If one area has more rain, another area will have less. Some regions will become wetter, and others much drier.”
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