Typhoon Narra: record flood waters submerge homes and force mass evacuations in China

Record floodwaters triggered by Typhoon Narra have submerged homes and prompted mass evacuations in southern China, as another storm system tracks towards Japan and Taiwan. Authorities in Chongzuo, Guangxi, evacuated more than 15,000 people on Tuesday after water levels surpassed a 2008 record.

China has relocated a total of 54,000 people in Guangxi due to rising floodwaters, state television reported. Narra made landfall as a tropical storm in China's southern island province of Hainan on Tuesday evening. It had lingered over the Beibu Gulf for several days, dumping heavy rain on Guangxi, Hainan, and Guangdong.

Heavy rain is expected to continue across parts of Vietnam and southern China through Wednesday. Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, and Fujian are forecast to receive torrential rain, according to state media. In Chongzuo, river water overflowed into the city, with flood levels reaching the rooftops of some buildings and power lines. Local authorities ordered businesses and tourist operations to cease and urged evacuated residents to avoid high-risk areas.

Separately, medium-strength Typhoon Saudel is moving towards southern Japan and northern Taiwan. Taiwan has reported one death and four missing from a different weather system affecting its south and east. Japan's weather agency warned of destructive winds and high seas as Saudel approached Okinawa prefecture.

Saudel is forecast to pass north of Taiwan from late Thursday into Friday, though its intensity is expected to weaken. In southern and eastern Taiwan, a tropical depression brought flooding to Tainan and Kaohsiung, cities with over 4 million people. Kaohsiung received nearly a meter of rain from Sunday to Tuesday, exceeding the rainfall from Typhoon Morakot in 2009, which killed about 700 people and caused $3 billion in damage. Saudel is predicted to make landfall in China's Fujian province from late Thursday to early Friday.