Video: watson/Emanuella Kälin
Jul 8, 2026, 5:44 amJuly 8, 2026, 11:52 am
The death toll has risen to 21 after a landslide in northwest China. In the accident near the city of Longnan in Gansu province, 33 people were buried – only twelve survived and seven of them were injured, the official news agency Xinhua reported, citing the authorities.
Severe storms had kept large parts of China in suspense since the weekend. In the southern province of Guangxi, a tropical storm brought heavy rain to the region, as a result of which the dam of a reservoir in Hengzhou, near the metropolis of Nanning, burst and the city with around 900,000 inhabitants was flooded. At least six people were killed in the province. Around 130,000 people were evacuated.
Snakes escaped from farm
There was also concern in Hengzhou after, according to media reports, hundreds of snakes from a breeding farm were released into the open as a result of the flooding. Videos of snakes swimming through the brown masses of mud and water were widely circulated on Chinese social media.
Some of the snakes that escaped on Monday were poisonous, Red Star News reported, citing the committee of Dengxu village, where the snake farm is located. Residents of other villages joined together to capture the animals, the online media quoted committee leader Wu Zhi as saying.
Video: watson/Emanuella Kälin
The authorities also reported severe damage in the central Chinese province of Hubei, where, according to Xinhua, a tornado hit several towns on Monday and left a scene of devastation in Huanggang, for example. At least eleven people died during the storms in Hubei. The cleanup continued on Wednesday, Chinese state television reported.
Severe storms had kept large parts of China in suspense since the weekend.Image: keystone
Typhoon approaching
Even beyond that, the weather situation in the country remains tense. As the rain caused many rivers to swell, there was an acute risk of flooding in southern and central China. Warnings of heavy rain were also in effect in Guangxi and some provinces in eastern and northeastern China.
In addition, people in parts of East Asia are preparing for the approaching super typhoon “Bavi”, which is currently moving in the western Pacific towards Taiwan and China. The Taiwan Meteorological Agency expects the tropical storm to pass north of the island on Saturday. China’s meteorologists expect the storm area to hit the southeast of the People’s Republic on Saturday evening (local time). By then, “Bavi” will likely have weakened and no longer fall into the category of a super typhoon, the Chinese weather agency predicted on Wednesday. (sda/dpa)