(Yicai) June 19 -- Fifteen people are still missing after extremely heavy rainstorms hit Meizhou, a prefecture-level city in China’s southern Guangdong province, and subordinate counties.

Five died, 13 are trapped, and 15 are still missing in Meizhou, according to the local authorities’ latest public announcement on June 17. By 10.00 p.m. that day, the city had relocated nearly 56,900 residents.

Over 250 millimeters of rain fell in 12 towns and sub-districts in Guangdong between 9.00 a.m. on June 16 and 9.00 a.m. on June 17, according to the province’s meteorologic authority. In Meizhou and other severely impacted areas, the rain exceeded 360 mm.

As of 11.00 a.m. yesterday, the storms had affected over 164,630 people in Meizhou, as heavy rains also caused landslides that swept away roads and blocked traffic, resulting in several villages and towns remaining isolated.

A county severely hit by the rainstorms was Pingyuan, particularly Chagan village, where the rain incessantly fell for more than 24 hours. As such weather conditions are very rare in this area of Guangdong, many residents were not familiar with the situation and did not have enough time to evacuate.

Villagers ended up sleeping in schools or moving to the roof of their buildings as they did not have enough time to consider better options, a Chagan resident surnamed Xie told Yicai. But it is in these types of situations that solidarity emerges, as many villagers living in less impacted areas open their homes to those in need, Xie noted.

Luckily, roads were clear yesterday, so villagers could drive to nearby towns to purchase food and necessities, Xie said, adding that emergency rescue is still ongoing, and villagers have already begun rebuilding their homes.

Editor: Futura Costaglione