Severe flooding hits Guangdong, Shenzhen issues city-wide red rainstorm warning

Torrential rains have flooded nearly half of Guangdong, including Shenzhen, Dongguan, Huizhou and Shanwei, with the severe weather expected to continue until Wednesday (Aug 6).

The Meteorological Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality issued a red rainstorm warning for the entire city, activating the emergency flood prevention response as roads turned into rivers. 

It was the first city-wide rainstorm warning signal issued since the impact of Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018.

Multiple areas in Guangdong and Guangxi issued red alerts for mountain torrents.

Zhangmutou in Dongguan recorded the highest cumulative rainfall in the province at 452 millimeters. The area was severely flooded, with cars submerged in water.  

The Meteorological Bureau upgraded parts of Longgang and Pingshan districts to a red rainstorm warning at nearly 1am on Tuesday (Aug 5), then expanded it to cover the entire city around 4am.

The warning was lifted at 7.30am the same day, though social media showed severe flooding overnight, raising safety concerns about commuting. 

Meanwhile, recent heavy rains in Beijing and Hebei have caused casualties. 

The National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters elevated the flood emergency response for Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and Guangdong from level four to level three on Monday (Aug 4).  

At 6pm on the same day, the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorological Administration jointly issued a red alert for mountain torrents, warning of high risks in Beijing's northeast, Hebei's north, central/western Guangdong, and eastern Guangxi.