Guangxi Flood · Full chronicle and history

On September 19, 2026, the media outlet The Irrawaddy published a report titled “Guangxi’s Deadly Floods and China’s Propaganda Crisis.” The article points out that the Guangxi region has recently suffered severe flooding, raises questions about the Chinese authorities’ propaganda strategies and information control during disaster response, and analyzes the contradictions between the official narrative and the actual situation in the disaster area, as well as the public opinion crisis they have triggered.

Flood disasters occurred in Zhenlong Township, Hengzhou, Guangxi. The houses of multiple villagers were destroyed, and they are in urgent need of daily living supplies such as autumn and winter clothes, bedding, and kitchenware. Netizens have launched donation appeals on social media platforms.

On August 7, flower farmers in Hengzhou, Guangxi released footage showing that, affected by the flooding from the discharge of the Liulan Reservoir for more than ten days, large areas of jasmine plants in local fields had lost their leaves and withered, and the soil was severely compacted.

On August 6, police in Hengzhou, Guangxi, announced that as of that day they had investigated 25 online rumor cases related to the floods and administratively detained 24 people; a man who commented in a comment section that he had heard the flood killed tens of thousands was detained for 3 days.

On August 5, inspection personnel entered Dengwei Village, Yunbiao Town, Hengzhou City, Guangxi. On-site video shows that the village road is still lined with mud and broken trees along its entire length, floodwater has yet to recede in some areas, and multiple houses have been severely damaged and collapsed.

Villagers in Xiaoyi Town, Hengzhou, Guangxi, affected by floods, rejected the official designation of the disaster as a natural disaster and the low compensation of several hundred yuan, publishing an article to defend their rights and accusing reservoir management of severe inaction and uncontrolled flood discharge that caused the flood to destroy the village.

Victims in the dam-break disaster area in Guangxi said in interviews and videos that relief supplies were severely insufficient, that local private donations were blocked, and that videos they posted showing their monotonous three meals a day were taken down online.

X account Luo Xiang posted a video submitted by a netizen showing that some disaster victims in the Hengzhou area of Guangxi staged a protest due to dissatisfaction with post-disaster resettlement. The video footage shows smoke filling the air in the night.

According to leaks from an insider at the Three Gorges project, Hengzhou first burned the huge number of victims' bodies in the open air with fuel in order to cover up the deaths and destroy the evidence, but because progress was too slow it switched to using highly concentrated acid to disfigure the remains.

An official dispatch list of donated disaster relief supplies for Hengzhou, Guangxi, circulating online shows that a village and town supply station needs 250 body bags for emergency use in a single day, and that 250 people died at one supply point, prompting netizens to question the actual death toll in Hengzhou.

The investigative report published by Southern Weekly, "Guangxi Liulan Reservoir Station Chief Talks About the 24 Hours Before the Breach," revealed that the reservoir's renovation cost billions yet was still a tofu-dreg project, the sluice gates were damaged, and of 54 staff on the payroll only 2 to 3 understood reservoirs; it was deleted across the entire internet within 24 hours of going online.

On July 15, 2026, after floodwaters receded at Guigang Senior High School in Guigang, Guangxi, thick mud piled up in student dormitories and corridors, and large amounts of daily necessities were washed away and soaked by muddy water. The school organized personnel to carry out silt removal work.

In the flood-stricken disaster area of Guangxi, some villagers' homes were destroyed, streets are littered with mud and garbage, and living supplies are limited as victims queue up for relief.

Southern Weekend reported on July 14 about the dispatch, equipment failures, and command failures before the collapse of the Liulan Reservoir in Guangxi, revealing long-standing hidden dangers. The report was quickly deleted by censors after its publication.

The mother of Ningbo's Little Luoxi was blocked by staff while traveling to disaster-stricken areas in Guangxi to donate money and supplies, and her accompanying personnel received inquiry calls from the Bureau of Justice.

On July 11, 2026, the mother of "Xiao Luoxi," a deceased victim in a Ningbo medical malpractice rights-defense case, traveled to the flood-hit area of Guangxi to donate funds and urgently needed supplies, and was intercepted and obstructed midway by local on-site stability maintenance (weiwen) personnel.

As of July 9, official data shows that the floods in Hubei and Guangxi have caused a cumulative 50 deaths; in Liaoning, more than 170,000 people were evacuated, including approximately 160,000 in Fushun.

The dam collapse of the Liulan Reservoir in Guangxi flooded downstream villages, leaving a large number of disaster victims trapped for days facing material shortages and secondary disasters. Official staging of propaganda afterwards sparked public doubt and criticism.

Gangbei No. 8 High School in Guigang is surrounded by floods, suffering from power outages and severe waterlogging. More than 2,000 teachers and students are stranded, and parents have to row boats themselves to pick them up.

On July 8, a man was administratively punished by Qinzhou police for spreading disaster information about the "Liulan Reservoir collapse." The reason was that he misreported the reservoir's location as Qinzhou instead of Hengzhou.

On July 8, 2026, police in Qinzhou, Guangxi reported that a man was found by public security authorities to have fabricated rumors after posting disaster-related claims online, including the collapse of the Liulan Reservoir and the canal flooding the urban area, and was given an administrative penalty.

Medical staff at the Guigang Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Guangxi issued a plea for help, stating that multiple pregnant women are awaiting delivery, newborns are undergoing emergency rescue, and medical personnel have been working continuously for over 50 hours, urgently needing reinforcements.

In the early hours of July 6, the Liu Lan Reservoir in Hengzhou, Guangxi collapsed due to gate failure and other issues, resulting in at least 26 deaths and 7 missing. The reservoir station chief said he had repeatedly tried to contact the mayor but no one answered, and grassroots staff assumed responsibility without clear instructions.

On July 6, 2026, a serious emergency occurred at the dam of Liulan Reservoir in Hengzhou, Nanning, Guangxi, where a breach opened up. Large volumes of floodwater gushed down, inundating downstream areas. Several people were trapped and swept away by the floodwaters.

The Reservoir Service Department issued a notice in the evening, warning the public to stay away from the riverbanks and preparing for flood discharge, but the sluice gates were not opened; the contractor claimed they were going to fish.

A dike breach occurred at Liunan Reservoir in Hengzhou, Guangxi. The official timeline says the water level exceeded the design flood level at 2:30 a.m., the flood discharge gates were fully opened at 6 a.m., residents received an evacuation notice at 8 a.m., and the dam collapsed at 10:20 a.m.; officials say 39 people died.

After the flood receded, some villages in Guangxi were reported to have food shortages and untimely rescue, forcing disaster victims to flee and survive by seeking food.

After making landfall in Hainan, a typhoon moved into Guangxi, causing floods in many parts of the region, including a partial breach of a reservoir named Lanshui Mountain, which washed away many villages. The official death toll is 39, but the host expressed doubt about this figure.

According to reports, police stood guard in disaster-stricken Hengzhou, Guangxi after the disaster, barring people from entering the affected area, and claimed the arrangements were meant to avoid triggering public opinion risks.

In early July this year, several reservoirs in Hengzhou, Guangxi, collapsed, causing floods. Water conservancy expert Wang Weiluo, who lives in Germany, said the breach of the Liulan Reservoir is closely related to the Pinglu Canal, and he put forward three factors: the canal changing the direction of river flow, flood embankments obstructing drainage, and the destruction of the Yu River watershed.

In 1998, Wen Jiabao was promoted to Vice Premier and served as the overall commander of disaster relief in the catastrophic floods that year, rushing to the front lines.