Floodwaters submerged homes, shops, vehicles, roads, and farmland across parts of southern China after Typhoon Noul struck Guangdong Province, leaving residents trapped in buildings, villages cut off, and the full casualty toll unclear.
Noul, known in China as “Hongxia,” made landfall near Pinghai Town in Huizhou’s Huidong County at about 3:50 a.m. on July 26. Maximum winds near its center reached about 101 mph, according to the Chinese National Meteorological Center.
In Puning, a city in eastern Guangdong, videos showed brownish water rushing through Meilin Town’s Songlou Village and filling ground-floor homes and shops. Vehicles and household belongings stood in floodwater as one resident lamented that “nothing” was left, according to footage reviewed by The Epoch Times.
A resident of Xinzhu Village in Puning’s Daping Town, requesting anonymity out of fear of reprisal, told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times that multiple parts of Puning were flooded and that the ground floors of many homes had filled with water.
“There was a landslide in the village, and the area outside my home collapsed, damaging a sheet-metal house in the front row,” he said.
The resident said olive trees had been snapped and carried into the middle of a river, while people and vehicles had also been swept into waterways. Many shops had been flooded at ground level, he said.
Although warnings had been issued, residents could not move shops, vehicles, and household property out of harm’s way, he said.
“People originally thought their homes and cars would not be flooded, but they were,” the resident said. “It really exceeded expectations.”
He also said a 66-year-old woman in nearby Houxi Township had been swept away and that he did not know whether she would be found. The Epoch Times could not independently confirm her condition.
Villages Cut Off
The Zhongxin River overflowed at about 6 a.m. on July 27, cutting off a town and six surrounding villages from roads, electricity, and communications, according to state-run Science and Technology Daily.
Resident-recorded videos from Zhongxin Town in Heyuan’s Lianping County shared by citizen reporter Ying Tang on X showed muddy water surrounding homes, covering roads, and reaching the windows or roofs of some vehicles. In Xinxia Village, footage showed floodwater covering the ground floors of houses, with residents said to be taking shelter on rooftops. The Epoch Times could not independently determine how many people were trapped.
A preliminary count from Huidong County, where the storm made landfall, listed about 102,300 households affected by power outages.
The tally also included 417 flooded homes, two collapsed houses, 33 blocked roads, 29 bridges covered by water, more than 5,000 fallen trees, and 50 waterlogged locations, according to a local government report.
Those numbers covered only Huidong County and did not account for losses in Puning, Lianping, Wuhua, Shanwei, Jieyang, and other affected areas.
Videos reviewed by The Epoch Times showed additional flooded residential areas in Huizhou, with water entering first floors, vehicles standing partially submerged, and debris floating through swollen waterways.
As of July 29, Chinese authorities had not published a consolidated Guangdong-wide account of deaths, missing people, flooded or destroyed homes, displaced residents, crop losses, or total economic damage linked to the storm.
More Rain Threatens Flooded Areas
The storm’s remnants continued to spread heavy rain across southern and central China, affecting more than 10 provincial-level regions, according to China Weather Network.
In Guangdong, more heavy rain was forecast through July 30, including in areas already hit by flooding. Forecasters warned that saturated soil could increase the risk of landslides, mountain torrents, and renewed flooding along smaller rivers.
