Dam Collapse Sends Tropical Storm Maysak Toll to 39

39 people have died after Tropical Storm Maysak dumped record rainfall on southern China, a sharp rise from the previously announced toll of six earlier this week. The death toll from Tropical Storm Maysak in southern China jumped in a July 9 update, according to ABC International, with authorities still searching for missing people in the broader Guangxi region.

The hardest-hit confirmed area is Hengzhou, where the partial collapse of a reservoir dam sent floodwater into the city and killed 26 people, Ding Wei, vice mayor of Nanning, said at a news briefing. Nine people remained missing across Guangxi.

Tropical Storm Maysak death toll reaches 39 after dam collapse in Hengzhou

Tropical Storm Maysak brought record rainfall to Guangxi starting Saturday, breaching reservoirs and trapping residents for days in homes and other buildings. The scale of the disaster became clearer Thursday as local authorities raised the death toll to 39.

The largest confirmed cluster of deaths came from the reservoir dam failure in Hengzhou. That detail matters because it shifts the story from a rainfall disaster alone to a compound emergency involving water infrastructure, evacuations, and recovery in inundated urban areas.

XOOMAR analysis: The jump from six deaths on Tuesday to 39 in the latest update suggests earlier casualty figures captured only part of the damage. That does not mean officials have identified the final toll. It means rescue crews and local authorities are still moving through flood-hit zones where reporting can lag behind conditions on the ground.

Confirmed figures so far:

Rainfall totals show why the flooding spread so fast. The national meteorological center said southern Guangxi received cumulative rainfall of 10 to 40 centimeters in some areas, with more than 90 centimeters in the hardest-hit areas.

That is the core risk now: water did not just flood streets. It overwhelmed reservoirs, cut off communities, and forced a major rescue operation across multiple localities.

More than 10,000 students and teachers rescued from flooded Guigang schools

Military rescue teams have finished evacuating more than 10,000 trapped students and teachers from a cluster of schools in Guigang, about 60 kilometers northeast of Hengzhou. State broadcaster CCTV showed students in bright orange life vests boarding boats near school buildings surrounded by muddy water.

Drones and boats have carried drinking water and supplies into flooded areas while bringing stranded residents out. Authorities said about 130,000 people have been evacuated.

Road repairs are still underway. Ding said electricity has been restored to more than 60,000 homes, while crews have been sent to clear mud, remove debris, and disinfect several towns in Hengzhou.

The animal toll is also emerging. A zoo in Guigang said more than 100 animals were missing, including two zebras, four porcupines, and dozens of tropical birds. In Hengzhou, reports of snakes escaping from a farm prompted authorities to stock antivenom and advise residents on what to do if bitten.

An animal shelter operator northwest of Hengzhou worked to rescue about 200 cats and dozens of dogs as floodwater rose. The dogs were carried out two at a time through deep water, while cats climbed into rafters.

For readers tracking the next regional storm threat, XOOMAR is following Typhoon Bavi’s path toward Taiwan and China, which is separate from Maysak but now overlaps with the recovery window in southern China. Our broader China file also includes China’s reusable rocket booster recovery, a reminder that the country’s operational capacity is being tested across very different fronts, from disaster response to aerospace.

Typhoon Bavi adds pressure as Maysak cleanup starts

Authorities said floodwaters are receding in parts of southern China, but more rain is expected in some areas over the next two days. That keeps the immediate priority on search operations, road access, power restoration, and public health work in towns left under muddy floodwater.

A second storm, Typhoon Bavi, was moving northwest at sea and was expected to pass over remote Japanese islands, then just north of Taiwan, before making landfall in China’s Fujian or Zhejiang province on Saturday. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration said Bavi had been downgraded from super-typhoon strength but still carried maximum sustained winds of 184 kilometers per hour, or 114 miles per hour.

Fishing boats were packed into ports in northern Taiwan on Thursday ahead of expected heavy rain. In the Philippines, classes were suspended in several cities and towns, and ships were barred from leaving northern ports as Bavi passed east of northern Luzon.

Southern China is not the only part of the region dealing with severe weather. In Hubei province, thunderstorms and tornadoes on Monday night left 11 dead and many others homeless. In Bangladesh, landslides caused by monsoon rains killed at least 13 Rohingya refugees in camps this week, and authorities were moving refugees to safer areas Thursday.

XOOMAR analysis: The immediate question in Guangxi is not just whether the Tropical Storm Maysak death toll rises again. It is whether receding water allows crews to reach every cut-off site before more rain complicates cleanup, disease control, and infrastructure repairs. The next updates from local authorities should show whether the missing count falls, whether damaged reservoirs are stabilized, and how fast basic services return in Hengzhou and surrounding communities.

Impact Analysis

• The sharp rise in deaths shows the disaster’s impact was initially undercounted as rescue crews reached flooded areas.
• The Hengzhou dam collapse highlights the added risk of infrastructure failures during extreme rainfall.
• With nine people still missing, the final toll could change as search and recovery efforts continue.