Two Big Storms Hit East Asia: China Evacuates Thousands as Taiwan Braces for More Rain

Rising floodwaters from Typhoon Narra forced Chinese authorities to move 54,000 people to safety in the Guangxi region of southern China. The storm had hung over the Beibu Gulf for several days before hitting land as a tropical storm on Tuesday evening in Hainan province, pouring heavy rain across Guangxi, Hainan, and Guangdong (The Guardian, 2026-08-26).

The worst damage hit Chongzuo, a city in western Guangxi on the border with Vietnam. River water poured into the city, rising so high it reached the rooftops of some buildings and power lines. On Monday, city officials ordered all businesses and tourist operations to shut down and warned evacuated residents not to return to dangerous areas (The Guardian, 2026-08-26).

In Shangsi County, another part of Guangxi, Narra caused severe flooding that triggered a Level II flood-control alert, the second-highest level in China's warning system (Xinhua, 2026-08-25). Heavy rain also hit Ningming County in Guangxi, leaving more than 22,000 people stranded (Xinhua, 2026-08-25). Narra was the 19th typhoon of the year to affect China, according to the same source.

China's government had started preparing for the storm days earlier. The country uses a four-level flood emergency system, where Level I is the most serious. Officials initially activated Level IV, the lowest tier, ahead of Narra's arrival, with forecasts from August 22 to 24 warning of heavy to torrential rain across southern and western Guangxi (Xinhua, 2026-08-23). Hainan planned to suspend ferry services as the storm approached (Xinhua, 2026-08-25). The higher Level II alert later issued in Shangsi reflected how dangerous conditions had become on the ground.

While southern China focused on Narra, a second storm, Typhoon Saudel, was heading toward southern Japan and northern Taiwan. Taiwan's Central Weather Administration expected Saudel to pass north of Taiwan starting late Thursday into Friday, gradually weakening as it moved. Saudel was also expected to hit the coast of Fujian province in southeastern China from late Thursday to early Friday (The Guardian, 2026-08-26).

Taiwan was already dealing with flood damage from a different weather system, a weaker storm called a tropical depression, that struck the island's southern and eastern parts. The government reported one person dead and four missing, with flooding in the cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung. Over three days from Sunday to Tuesday, nearly a metre (3.9 feet) of rain fell in Kaohsiung. The government said that amount exceeded the rainfall during 2009's Typhoon Morakot, which killed about 700 people and caused up to $3 billion in damage (The Guardian, 2026-08-26).

That Morakot comparison is alarming. The 2009 storm was one of the deadliest typhoons to hit Taiwan in modern history. The fact that this weaker tropical depression dropped more rain on Kaohsiung than Morakot did, even before Saudel arrives, means the ground is already soaked through. With Saudel expected to pass just north of the island, any additional rain on already waterlogged land could worsen the risk of landslides and flash floods across southern Taiwan's mountainous areas.

The broader context here is that the western Pacific Ocean often produces storms back to back at this time of year. Narra and Saudel are not unusual on their own. They fit a pattern seen every year from late August through October, when warm ocean water and favorable winds allow multiple storms to form and follow similar paths. Think of it like cars on a highway: once the road is open, several vehicles travel the same direction in a row. For emergency responders across southern China, Hainan, and Taiwan, the problem is that crews and resources used for Narra cannot be sent home before Saudel arrives. People tired of evacuating, roads and bridges under strain, and ground already full of water all add up to risks that may be worse than any single storm's forecast suggests.

For Fujian province, Saudel would be a third major concern. Fujian sits on the stretch of China's coast that typhoons hit most often. With Guangxi and Hainan still dealing with Narra's damage, a Saudel landfall in Fujian would spread emergency teams thin across three provinces at the same time.