China’s Typhoon Maysak death toll soars to 159 as region tallies catastrophic losses

The death toll from Typhoon Maysak's catastrophic floods in southern China has risen to 159, as officials updated the figures for the first time in six weeks. Ten people remain missing, and the disaster has affected over 1.65 million people, according to state news agency Xinhua. The typhoon brought "historically rare, large-scale, and persistent heavy rainfall" to Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in early July.

In Nanning, 90 towns were hit, 23,300 people were evacuated, and 136 fatalities occurred, including 107 from the collapse of two dams. In Guigang, 20,500 people were evacuated, and 23 people died, primarily due to dam breaches at the Liulan Reservoir. The typhoon first made landfall in Hainan province on July 3 and re-entered the region between Guangxi and Vietnam the following day.

Breaches and flooding were observed at multiple reservoirs, while sections of the Liulan Reservoir's dams gave way. Videos showed a surge of muddy water engulfing fields and trapping people on rooftops. One man was rescued from floodwaters by a drone. Another woman died from a snake bite after over 900 reptiles escaped from a breeding farm.

In recent weeks, China has experienced several extreme weather events, including typhoons Bavi, Noul, and Dolphin, which primarily affected southern and eastern coastal areas and northern China. No casualties were reported from Bavi and Noul, but mudslides from Dolphin caused one death and three missing persons in Zhejiang province.

China's National Meteorological Centre warned that a new typhoon, Saudel, is located approximately 170km from Hainan, but is not expected to impact the mainland until Wednesday. Authorities previously predicted that with a strong El Nino event anticipated this autumn or winter, more meteorological disasters, including typhoons and high ocean temperatures, could affect China during the winter of 2027, followed by extreme rain and flooding in the summer.