Heavy rain hit Maoming in Guangdong, 50 people were reported dead and the survival of another 30 is still unclear _ CHINA.org.cn

Xinhua News Agency, Maoming, September 23 (Liang Sheng, Liang Yuandong, Ge Yanmei) - At 12 o'clock on September 23, the latest news from the Three Prevention Office of Maoming City in Guangdong Province reported that a once-in-200-years torrential rainstorm severely hit Gaozhou and Xinyi cities. The number of people who died as a result of the disaster has increased to 50, with 30 missing and unaccounted for, and another 20 injured.

At around 7 o'clock in the morning on the 23rd, Wang Yang, Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, and Huang Huawei, Governor of Guangdong Province, went deep into Qianpai Town, one of the worst-hit areas in Xinyi, to inspect the disaster situation, console the disaster-stricken masses, and guide flood control and disaster relief work.

The reporter saw along the way in Qianpai Town that local road traffic had basically been restored, but power supply to some villages was still interrupted. In the two villages of Dadong and Shuanghe, which were hardest hit by the disaster, efforts are currently underway to clear away mud and repair roads. A villager surnamed Ling told the reporter that the tailing pond of Yinyin Tin Mine was breached due to the impact of the mudslide, causing serious damage to nearby Dadong Village and Shuanghe Village. Almost all of the village was flooded, and most houses collapsed.

Due to the severe impact of Typhoon Fanapi's circulation, heavy rains to super-heavy rains occurred in most areas of Gaozhou and Xinyi in Maoming from nightfall on the 20th to daytime on the 21st, leading to floods exceeding warning levels, landslides, and internal flooding disasters. Mudslides destroyed roadbeds and houses, uprooted trees, and cut off electricity, communications, and roads, resulting in serious casualties and enormous property losses. Preliminary statistics show that 26 towns and 517,000 people were affected in Gaozhou and Xinyi, with 454 houses collapsing. The total direct economic loss is being further verified.

In the early hours of the 22nd, Li Ronggen, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, and Shu Qingpeng, Deputy Director of the National Flood Control Office, arrived in Maoming overnight to command flood control and rescue operations. That afternoon, Wang Yang, Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, and Huang Huawei, Governor of Guangdong Province, also successively rushed to the disaster area to inspect the disaster situation.