4 dead, 8 missing, over 60k evacuated following Guangxi rainstorm

Four people have been confirmed dead, and eight others have been reported missing in Hengzhou, a county-level city administered by Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, after torrential rain battered the region beginning on Saturday, local authority said at noon on Tuesday.

As of 11 am on Tuesday, Hengzhou had reported 84,700 people affected and had planned to evacuate 54,468 residents, with 53,808 already relocated to safety. The remaining 660 people are being evacuated in batches, and the relocation is expected to be completed by the end of Tuesday, Wei Jiang, vice-mayor of the city, said at a news conference.

In neighboring Binyang county, which is also administered by Nanning, 8,606 people have been affected by the torrential rain. A total of 8,150 residents identified for evacuation have been safely relocated, Wei said.

The torrential rain in Binyang broke the county's previous 24-hour rainfall record, according to local authorities.

He added that Nanning has allocated 40 million yuan ($5.87 million) to disaster relief funds so far and dispatched a batch of emergency supplies, including life jackets, folding beds, instant food, and ambulances.