Days of torrential rain from July 4 to July 6 caused multiple reservoirs in Guangxi to fail or overflow. The collapse of Liulan Reservoir in Hengzhou, followed by failures at Yunbiao Reservoir and Gandao Reservoir in neighboring Guigang, triggered a cascading disaster as more than a dozen nearby reservoirs suffered breaches or other emergencies, unleashing severe flooding across the region.
Local authorities later acknowledged seepage problems at another reservoir embankment in Yunbiao Township after online reports claimed two additional reservoirs had collapsed on July 21, according to Chinese news portal Sohu.
Floodwaters inundated villages across Hengzhou’s Xiaoyi, Yunbiao, Maling, Taowei, and Shitang townships. Although the water has receded, many downstream residents say their struggles have only begun.
Among the worst affected is Dutian Village, located directly below Liulan Reservoir.
One resident in the village told The Epoch Times the disaster unfolded within minutes. The reservoir outlet faced directly toward his home.
After days of monitoring the rising water level, the resident said “Once we saw the water going over the top, we ran immediately.”
The family fled on a single electric scooter.
“It was a race against death,” he said. “If we had left a little earlier, we could make it to higher ground. If we'd been any later, the water would have come down and we wouldn’t have escaped.”
The family survived, but their home did not.
When the resident returned after the floodwaters receded, he said the destruction was almost beyond comprehension.
“More than 100 households were affected. Around 40 or 50 homes were simply washed away,” he said. “Other families can still find the foundations of their houses. Our home’s foundation is gone.”
The family’s three-story house had been built about 10 years ago. They had just completed renovations this year and planned to celebrate moving in.
“Now it’s all gone,” the resident said. “The efforts of two generations were wiped out overnight. It’s as if we’ve been pushed back to the 1960s or 1970s. Sometimes I cry by myself. My heart is broken.”
Closed Temporary Shelters
The immediate emergency response has also become a source of frustration for displaced families.
According to the resident, flood victims were initially housed in local schools before authorities ordered them to leave as schools prepared to reopen.
“The government said we couldn’t stay anymore because school was starting,” he said. “They told us to find somewhere to rent or stay with relatives.”
His family is now living temporarily in a private house owned by acquaintances rather than government-provided accommodation.
“We’re paying rent and utilities,” he said. “It’s only better than staying in a hotel.”
Finding housing has become increasingly difficult because so many families were displaced.
“There are too many disaster victims,” the resident said. “Hotels are full, and we have elderly people and children. It’s very hard to find somewhere to rent.”
Chinese media have confirmed that evacuation centers in Guangxi have been closed.
According to Guangxi Daily via state media Xinhua, villagers from Liulan Village began leaving temporary shelters on July 22. The principal of a local school, which had served as one evacuation site, said 708 people remained there as of July 21 before authorities began transporting residents home the following morning.
Separately, videos circulating online show loudspeaker announcements instructing flood victims to vacate temporary shelters in schools, prompting criticism.
Promised Subsidies Remain Unrealized
The financial burden of starting over has become another pressing concern.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission announced via state media China Central Television on July 26 that it had allocated an additional 100 million yuan ($15 million) in central government funds for disaster recovery in Guangxi, bringing the total emergency allocation to 200 million yuan ($30 million).
It is unclear whether the central government’s announced relief funding has reached affected households.
The resident said local officials promised each family a monthly subsidy of 300 yuan ($45) per month, “but we haven’t seen any money yet.”
Even if the subsidy arrives, he said, it will fall far short of actual expenses.
“Rent alone costs 600 to 700 yuan a month. We still have to eat and pay for housing.”
During the first days after the disaster, the resident said many villagers survived largely on privately donated supplies.
“At first we received rice porridge, then later rice,” he recalled. “For several days, we survived mainly on porridge.”
Private donors also distributed cash directly to residents, he said.
As for his own finances, the resident said he has only about 7,000–8,000 yuan ($1,034–$1,181) in savings left.
“Everything in our home was washed away,” he said. “I don’t know how long this money will last.”
For many residents, the destruction extends beyond their homes.
Hengzhou is widely known as China’s “hometown of jasmine,” and generations of villagers have relied on jasmine cultivation for their livelihoods.
“Now the farmland is gone,” the resident said. “The jasmine fields have disappeared.”
Before the flood, most families earned enough from growing jasmine to support themselves, he said.
“Now the farmland is gone, and farmers have no income.”
He estimated that 40 to 50 homes in the village were completely destroyed, while another 60 to 70 houses suffered severe structural damage, rendering them uninhabitable.
Most of the village’s farmland was also devastated, leaving more than half of the local residents without a source of income.
The resident said he hopes to rebuild by finding work elsewhere, but caring for both children and elderly relatives has complicated those plans.
“If the government could at least provide temporary housing, I'd feel more comfortable going out to work,” he said.
Reservoir Management
Beyond the immediate hardship, the residents questioned whether the disaster could have been mitigated.
He believes the flooding was not solely due to unusually heavy rainfall.
“We think 90 percent of this disaster was caused by human factors,” he said. “We’ve lived below the reservoir for years. We know when they release water and how much they release.”
The resident argued that reservoir operators should have discharged water earlier, before the heaviest rainfall arrived.
“If they had released water in advance, they wouldn’t have needed to release such a large volume later,” he said. “The disaster might not have been this severe.”
The Chinese regime has not publicly concluded that reservoir management errors contributed to the disaster.
“We’re very grateful to all the rescue teams and volunteers,” he said. “But we’re disappointed with the government’s response.”
Nearly 20 days after the flooding, the resident said, reconstruction has barely begun.
“So far, we haven’t seen any concrete plans for rebuilding or for helping farmers who lost their land find new livelihoods,” he said. “Right now, most people are relying on themselves and on help from ordinary citizens.”
