4 people were evacuated to safety in Yichang, Central China's Hubei Province on May 18, 2026. Photo: VCG

Severe rainfalls have triggered floods and caused damages in multiple regions including Central China's Hubei Province, Central China's Hunan Province and Southwest China's Guizhou Province, leaving several people dead and missing, while local authorities have immediately launched emergency response measures and are carrying out rescue and relief operations. 

Rainstorms and floods had left four dead, with five more people reported missing as of 3 pm Tuesday in Guiding county, Southwest China's Guizhou Province. Three people were dead and four were missing in Enshi, Hubei Province. Extreme rainfall also battered Shimen county in Central China's Hunan Province from early Sunday morning to Tuesday afternoon, leaving four people dead and one missing, with 23 townships suffering disasters to varying extents, according to Xinhua.

From Monday to Tuesday, sudden extreme rainfall triggered floods and landslides in parts of Guiding county. Some areas saw houses submerged, roads damaged, and communications disrupted. Local authorities immediately activated emergency response measures and organized multiple departments to carry out search and rescue operations, evacuate residents, provide medical treatment, clear roads, and repair communication facilities.

The local government has dispatched a working team to the affected areas to coordinate rescue and relief efforts. Emergency rescue operations and the search for the missing are still underway in an orderly manner, according to Xinhua. 

The Guiding county local authorities decided to launch a Level I emergency disaster relief response at 3 pm on Tuesday, urging relevant departments to strengthen emergency supply distribution, assistance for affected residents, repairs to transportation, water, electricity and other infrastructure, as well as post disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts, to protect people's lives and property and minimize losses, according to the Guiding county government website. 

The Guiding county flood control and drought relief command told the Global Times late Tuesday that the rain had stopped in the local area. The authority also confirmed that the number of deaths and missing persons had not increased as of the interview. Meanwhile, Guizhou provincial authorities are actively coordinating rescue and relief operations.

China's National Development and Reform Commission announced on Tuesday that it had urgently allocated 30 million yuan ($4.2 million) from the central budget to support post-disaster emergency recovery efforts in Guizhou Province following recent floods and geological disasters.

Earlier, Xinhua reported on Tuesday morning that from Sunday to Monday, heavy torrential rainfall hit the upper reaches of the Baishui River in the Xuan'en county, Enshi, in Hubei Province, with the maximum rainfall reaching 292.6 millimeters. 

Local authorities quickly activated emergency response measures and dispatched multiple departments including armed police, public security, emergency response, firefighting, transportation, power and telecommunications personnel to the scene. A total of 287 residents were evacuated. Search and rescue, medical treatment, road clearance and communication repair work are still underway, the report said. 

Over 19,000 people have also been evacuated to safety in Hunan, media reports said. After the situation stabilized, local authorities worked overnight to transport emergency supplies such as foods and drinking water. The affected people were properly resettled.

Heavy rains are forecast to persist across 10 provinces in Central and Eastern China. The National Meteorological Center issued a yellow alert for heavy rainfall at 6 pm on Tuesday. From 8 pm on Tuesday to 8 pm on Wednesday, parts of Guizhou, Hunan, Guangxi, and Guangdong provinces are expected to experience torrential rain.