Guangxi Flood Survivors Question Chinas Official Death Toll After Reservoir Collapse

Residents of southern China’s Guangxi region say last week’s catastrophic flooding killed far more people than authorities have acknowledged, with multiple people telling The Epoch Times that entire villages were destroyed and the true death toll could be in the thousands.The flooding followed days of torrential rain beginning July 4. On July 6, the Liulan Reservoir in Hengzhou City, Guangxi, collapsed, sending a massive wall of water through low-lying communities before surging into neighboring cities.Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency reported on July 9 that flooding across Guangxi had killed 39 people and left nine missing, including 26 deaths and seven missing linked to the Liulan Reservoir failure. Officials have not updated the figures since, prompting skepticism among residents in some of the hardest-hit areas.The residents spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.Death Toll ‘Definitely’ in the ThousandsYunbiao Township, home to about 86,000 people, lay directly in the path of the floodwaters released by the reservoir collapse and was among the worst-hit areas.Several residents and volunteers who spoke to the publication on July 13 described widespread devastation that they believe is far more severe than official reports indicate.A local villager told The Epoch Times that floodwaters had receded, but the town remains littered with debris and foul-smelling mud as residents returned.“The air still smells terrible,” he said. “Young people have come back to clean their homes and help clear public areas.”His own village, Longzi, lost two residents, the villager said, while neighboring Yapi Village suffered much heavier casualties.“In just one production team there, more than a dozen people were swept away,” he said. “Property losses are secondary. People’s lives are what matter. The death toll is definitely in the four digits—at least a thousand.”The villager said his own family survived, though their home suffered extensive damage.“For the first few days, there was almost no food,” he said. “Aid didn’t start arriving by drone until the third or fourth day. We still don’t have electricity or running water, and there is garbage everywhere.”Some residents have temporarily moved in with relatives outside the disaster zone, while others are staying in government shelters or paying to rent housing elsewhere, he said.“The government’s compensation is just a drop in the bucket,” the villager added. “Most of the help has come from donations and volunteers.”A second resident from a nearby village told The Epoch Times that local authorities have restricted access to parts of the township while recovery efforts continue.“The town is basically sealed off. You can’t just go in,” he said. “What we need now are volunteers to remove the mud.”Asked about reports that the death toll may exceed 1,000, the resident said he believed the estimates were credible.“There are still many people who haven’t been found,” he said. “Those living closest to the reservoir had no time to escape.”He said some victims remain buried beneath thick layers of mud, forcing excavator operators to work carefully. He added that rescue crews recently recovered several bodies caught in accumulated debris.A third resident from neighboring Zhenlong Township told The Epoch Times that one entire village in the township had effectively disappeared.“I don’t know about other places, but Zhenlong has eight villages, and one of them is gone,” the resident said. “Many people are buried underneath forever. The number of people killed is at least 500.”Reports of Body Bags Fuel QuestionsA photo circulating online appears to show a July 12 logistics dispatch form for disaster relief in the region.The document lists medical supplies, rubber boots, tents, and body bags scheduled for delivery to Yunbiao Township’s traffic police station. The number of body bags appears to have been revised upward by hand from 200 to 250.The second resident said recovery teams entering Yunbiao carried body bags with them.“When they find a body, they put it directly into a body bag and transport it to the funeral home,” he said. “Photos are then sent to village chat groups so family members can identify the deceased.”The resident also said that authorities have imposed strict controls on information coming out of the disaster zone. Locals are reluctant to discuss casualty figures publicly for fear of official retaliation.“Local people know what happened, but we can’t spread it around,” he said. “The authorities will investigate who said it.”The resident also said access to Yunbiao has been tightly restricted.“They don’t want more people coming in and seeing the bodies,” he said. “People from outside have to register before entering.”A volunteer in the rescue operations told The Epoch Times he helped deliver supplies but was unable to enter some of the hardest-hit villages because roads remained blocked by deep mud.“People who have come out say entire villages are gone,” he said. “There are videos, but they can’t be posted online. Two people who uploaded them had their accounts shut down.”A fourth local resident echoed those concerns.“The whole township has been washed away,” the resident told The Epoch Times. “I can’t say too much. My own home was completely destroyed.”Asked about the number of people killed, the resident paused.“I don’t know how to talk about it,” he said. “I can only tell you to listen to the official announcements.”U.S.-based China current affairs commentator Li Linyi told The Epoch Times that videos circulating online suggest damage on a scale inconsistent with the official death toll.“You can see from the footage that entire villages were swept away,” Li said. “It’s hard to believe only a few dozen people died.”He noted that multiple residents interviewed independently cited casualty estimates in the thousands and said more information may emerge as recovery efforts continue.The Epoch Times is unable to independently verify the villagers’ estimates of the death toll.Tang Bing and Gu Xiaohua contributed to this report.