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Record Floodwaters Swallow Southern China

Torrential rain from Typhoon Narra has pushed river levels in Guangxi to their highest point since 2008, submerging streets, shops and homes across the region. In the city of Chongzuo, floodwaters rose high enough to reach rooftops and power lines, forcing authorities to shut down all businesses and tourist sites.

More than 15,000 residents were evacuated from Chongzuo alone. Across all of Guangxi, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that some 54,000 people have now been relocated, with over 8,000 moved into emergency shelters. It is worth noting that this figure comes from state media; independent verification of the full scale of displacement in China is difficult, since foreign journalists face significant restrictions when reporting inside the country.

Water levels at 20 monitoring stations across 15 rivers have exceeded official warning thresholds, according to Chinese state media reports. Rescue crews have used inflatable boats and, in at least one township, a temporary pontoon bridge to reach residents trapped by rising water.

The storm has lingered unusually long over the Gulf of Tonkin, dumping sustained rainfall on Guangxi and the neighboring provinces of Hainan and Guangdong. Forecasters expect the heavy rain to continue through Wednesday, with Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan and Fujian all at risk of further torrential downpours.

Taiwan Reports Deaths as a Separate Storm System Hits

While Narra battered southern China, Taiwan was dealing with its own weather disaster. A separate tropical depression dumped nearly a metre (3.9 feet) of rain on the southern city of Kaohsiung over just three days — more rainfall than the island saw during 2009's Typhoon Morakot, one of the deadliest storms in Taiwan's modern history, which killed roughly 700 people.

Taiwanese authorities have confirmed one death and four people still missing in the flooding that struck Tainan and Kaohsiung, cities that together are home to more than four million residents.

Typhoon Saudel Weakens, But Danger Isn't Over

A second, more powerful storm — Typhoon Saudel — has been moving slowly toward Okinawa, Taiwan and the Chinese coast. Japan's weather agency has warned of destructive wind gusts and dangerously high seas as the typhoon skirts the Okinawa islands.

The latest tracking data, however, shows Saudel losing some of its punch. According to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration, the storm's wind field has shrunk and its maximum sustained winds have dropped from around 184 km/h to roughly 155 km/h in the space of a day. Because the typhoon is now curving northward under the influence of a Pacific high-pressure system, a direct landfall on Taiwan looks less likely — though outer rain bands could still bring heavy downpours and strong winds to the island, especially Thursday into Friday.

Saudel is still expected to pass just north of Taiwan before curving toward Fujian province on China's coast, arriving late Thursday into early Friday. China's national marine forecasting center has issued an orange alert — its second-highest warning level — for waves of up to 12 metres in the East China Sea.

A Rare Triple-Storm Pattern

Meteorologists note that the current situation is unusual: Narra, Saudel and a third system, Typhoon Gaenari, have all been active in the Pacific and South China Sea at the same time — a configuration rarely seen in modern typhoon records. Chinese forecasters say the country has already recorded 21 tropical systems in 2026, nine more than the historical average for this point in the year.

Outlook

With Guangxi's floodwaters not expected to recede before Wednesday and Saudel still bearing down on Fujian and northern Taiwan, authorities across the region remain on high alert. Train services through parts of Guangxi have been suspended over fears of landslides, and evacuated residents have been told not to return to high-risk areas for now.

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Sources

1. South China Morning Post – "Typhoon Narra causes flash floods in southern China": https://www.scmp.com/video/china/3365094/typhoon-narra-causes-flash-floods-southern-china
2. Taipei Times – "Typhoon Saudel weakens, likely to come closest to Taiwan Friday": https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2026/08/25/2003863110
3. China Daily – "Narra hits Guangxi, triggers evacuations": https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202608/25/WS6a8cebf0e4b057c97e209880.html
4. The Star (Malaysia) – "China evacuates tens of thousands as rain from Typhoon Narra lashes southwest": https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2026/08/24/china-evacuates-tens-of-thousands-as-rain-from-typhoon-narra-lashes-southwest

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