Rescue continues in flood-ravaged Guangxi after reservoir breach

Thirty-nine people died and nine remained missing in the flood-affected Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region as of noon on Thursday, local authorities said, as rescue and relief efforts continued and the breach in the Liulan Reservoir in Nanning remained under control.

Ding Wei, vice-mayor of Nanning, said at a news conference on Thursday that the figures for the dead and missing could overlap, as some of the dead were yet to be identified. DNA testing was being carried out, and search areas were continually being expanded, so the casualty figures could change as each case is verified, he said.

The breach in the Liulan Reservoir in Hengzhou resulted in 26 deaths, including five unidentified individuals, and seven people remained missing, he said.

As of 11 am on Thursday, a total of 64,500 people had been evacuated and resettled across Nanning, including 54,500 in Hengzhou and 9,321 in neighboring Binyang county, Ding said.

More than 300 public health workers have been deployed to affected areas, and no disease outbreaks or public health emergencies have been reported so far, he added.

The situation arising from the reservoir breach was largely under control. Zhai Jianjia, deputy director of Nanning's water resources bureau, said that water levels at the breached Liulan Reservoir had fallen below the dam foundation level, and the breach and downstream discharge had largely stabilized. Access to the dam crest was restored on Thursday after emergency repairs to flooded roads, allowing for dredging of the river and debris removal, he said.

Zhai added that water levels at nearby Yunbiao Reservoir had also dropped, and the risk to downstream areas remained low unless more heavy inflows occurred. Authorities will conduct a comprehensive safety assessment of both dams.

Meanwhile, another round of heavy rainfall is forecast for Hengzhou and Binyang over the next two days. Ding, the vice-mayor, said that rescue operations, infrastructure repairs and post-disaster recovery preparations would continue.

Across the flood-hit region, national emergency response teams, cross-provincial rescue units and civilian volunteers continued working side by side to evacuate stranded residents and deliver relief supplies.

One of the largest rescue operations took place at Guangxi Logistics Vocational and Technical College in Guigang, where more than 6,000 teachers and students were stranded by the floods.

China Anneng Construction Group, a State-owned emergency rescue force, deployed two self-propelled modular pontoon bridge hulls — each capable of carrying more than 500 people per trip — to ferry those trapped to safety. By noon on Thursday, all those who were stranded had been safely evacuated.

"The first time I boarded (the pontoon bridge), I truly felt the strength of the nation's technology," said Li Guizhao, one of the evacuated students. "The helplessness I felt while trapped disappeared instantly. It gave me a real sense of security."

Rescue efforts have also drawn nationwide support. In Qinzhou, two rescuers from Guangdong province spent five hours in floodwaters nearly three meters deep evacuating elderly residents trapped on the second floor of their homes.

"Some of the elderly were trapped upstairs and couldn't make their way down," rescuer Qiu Yajie said. "We formed a human ladder and brought them down slowly."

Volunteers also joined the relief effort. Zhao Zhansheng drove about 1,600 kilometers from Central China's Henan province to Guangxi, where he set up a mobile kitchen to prepare free bowls of huimian, or Henan stewed noodles, for displaced residents and rescue workers.

"We'll be here every day," Zhao said in a video from the flood zone. "If there isn't enough for everyone, we'll just keep cooking."

Zhang Li in Nanning contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn