China’s Typhoon Maysak death toll soars to 159 as region tallies catastrophic losses

Six weeks after ‘historically rare’ disaster, Guangxi authorities update fatalities, quadrupling total from 39

The typhoon triggered “historically rare, large-scale and persistent heavy rainfall” in the province in early July, the authorities said. In Nanning, 90 towns were affected, 23,300 people were evacuated and 136 people died, including 107 following the collapse of two dams. In Guigang, 20,500 people were evacuated and 23 died, the local government said.

These two cities planned to recover within a year, with improvements to flood control and reservoir defences, the authorities said.

The typhoon, which first made landfall in Hainan province on July 3 and again between Guangxi and Vietnam the following day, inflicted more damage on the southern region than expected.