A rescue boat is seen moves through a flooded area in Longzhou, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on August 24, 2026, after heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Narra and upstream inflows caused water levels along the Zuojiang River to rise. Photo: VCG

Typhoon Narra, the 19th typhoon of the year, made landfall along the coast of Changjiang county in South China's Hainan Province at around 6:40 pm on Tuesday, after bringing heavy rainfall and flooding to southern regions, triggering evacuation of 50,000 people across Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Guangxi faced its most severe flooding in decades, with 14 rivers at 20 hydrological stations surpassing warning levels by 0.37 to 7.69 meters. The Mingjiang River recorded its highest flood peak since records began in 1953, surging 6.69 meters above the warning level, while the Zuojiang River saw its highest levels since 1986, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday. 

According to a report from China News Service, the flood which hit the Zuojiang River brought the peak water level to 123.54 meters, 7.34 meters above the warning level. 

A total of 15,535 people in Longzhou county have been evacuated and relocated, while rescue teams are carrying out relief operations for affected residents, China News reported on Tuesday.

Longzhou county lies along the China-Vietnam border, where the Ping'er River, an upstream tributary of the Zuojiang River, flows across the border. Flood conditions in Longzhou therefore depend not only on local rainfall but also on water flowing in from Vietnam. The Chinese side remains in daily contact with the Vietnamese side to keep track of inflows along the Ping'er River, China News Service reported.

An earlier report from Xinhua said that, as of Sunday, the typhoon had affected 61,000 people across Guangxi, with 54,000 people relocated due to the disaster and 8,087 placed in emergency shelters. 

Since forming on August 21, Typhoon Narra has barely moved, lingering over the Beibu Gulf. As of 1 pm Tuesday, its center was located over the Beibu Gulf about 55 kilometers west-northwest of Dongfang city in South China's Hainan Province, maintaining tropical storm intensity, China Central Television (CCTV) News reported on Tuesday. 

The Guangxi water resources authority on Tuesday upgraded its flood-control emergency response for Guigang, while maintaining higher-level responses in several other cities, including Chongzuo, Fangchenggang and Nanning, CCTV reported. 

China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) said Typhoon Narra would make landfall or brush past Hainan, making landfall in Guangdong and Guangxi coastal areas on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. It was packing winds of up to 20 meters per second near its center, with gale-force winds extending 100 to 150 kilometers outward — roughly comparable to the distance between New York City and Philadelphia. Narra is expected to weaken rapidly after making landfall.  

Global Times