At least 21 dead after extreme rainfall hits southern and central China
Torrential rain triggered widespread flooding across southern and central China from May 16 to 19, 2026, killing at least 21 people and disrupting schools, businesses, transport, and power supplies. China’s National Meteorological Center keeps a yellow rainstorm warning in force, with heavy rain forecast to continue across parts of southern and eastern China through May 20.
Image credit: CCTV
Rainfall during the event reached 458.8 mm (18.1 inches) in Hefeng County, Hubei Province, while the highest hourly total reached 146 mm (5.7 inches) in Lixian County, Hunan Province, according to data provided by the National Meteorological Center (NMC).
A total of 628 meteorological stations logged torrential rain, while 40 stations recorded extraordinarily heavy rain. Two national-level meteorological stations broke historical precipitation records, and 81 national meteorological stations set new monthly precipitation records, the center said.
Heavy rain in Hubei affected 337 townships with more than 100 mm (3.9 inches) of rain, with one village receiving 507 mm (20 inches) from Saturday afternoon, May 16, to 13:00 LT on Monday, May 18.
According to the latest data, at least 21 people had been killed — 10 in Guangxi’s Huanjiang vehicle-flood incident, 4 in Guiding County, Guizhou, another 4 in Shimen County, Hunan, and 3 in Xuan’en County, Hubei.
In Guangxi, authorities in Huanjiang County said all missing people from the May 16 vehicle-flood incident had been found, with 5 survivors and 10 deaths, according to Xinhua. In Guizhou, Guiding County’s flood-control and drought-relief headquarters reported 4 deaths and 5 missing people as of 15:00 LT on May 19.
In Hunan, Shimen County authorities reported that 23 townships had been affected to varying degrees, with 61 583 people affected, 4 deaths, and 1 person missing. In Hubei, Xuan’en County’s flood-control and drought-relief office reported 3 deaths and 4 missing people as of 20:00 LT on May 18.
Schools, businesses, and transport services were suspended in some areas, while residents were being relocated in parts of Hubei and Hunan. Hainan issued a geological-disaster warning on Tuesday after a mountainside collapsed onto a highway in Lingshui, prompting authorities to close several major roads in that area of the island, Reuters reported.
The rainfall zone covered more than 1 000 km (621 miles), Chinese meteorologists said, linking this slow-moving rain event to abundant moisture from the Bay of Bengal, the South China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean.
China’s weather agency said Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan are among areas facing high risk from rain-related disasters, including landslides, flash floods, severe urban flooding, and waterlogging.
The country’s Ministry of Emergency Management said the current round of heavy rainfall is the strongest since the start of this year’s flood season.
NMC warned that large areas of southern China will continue to receive heavy rain from the night of May 19 into May 20.
From 20:00 LT on May 19 to 20:00 LT on May 20, heavy rain to rainstorms were forecast in northern Jiangxi, southern Anhui, southern Jiangsu, western Zhejiang, southern Guizhou, southern Hunan, northern and eastern Guangxi, central and northern Guangdong, southwestern Guangdong, southern Hainan Island, and eastern Shandong Peninsula.
Parts of southern Anhui, northern Jiangxi, northeastern Guangxi, and southwestern Guangdong were forecast to receive 100–180 mm (3.9–7.1 inches) during the same period. The agency said some areas would also face short-duration heavy rainfall of 30–50 mm (1.2–2 inches) per hour, with local totals above 70 mm (2.8 inches) per hour, together with thunderstorms and strong convective winds.
NMC meteorologists forecast another broader rainfall event from May 21 to May 23 across central and eastern China, including moderate to heavy rain in Jianghan, Jianghuai, Jiangnan, and northern South China.
References:
1 湖北多地遭遇破纪录强降雨 – 21 Jingji – May 18, 2026
2 At least 21 killed as heavy rains drench southern, central China – Reuters – May 19, 2026
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