Over 1,300 students, faculty evacuated after flood at China school

Firefighters evacuated over 1,300 students and faculty from a middle school in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Friday after they were trapped by a sudden flood.

Water began pooling around the school’s main gate at 11:00 Friday and rose to knee high within 30 minutes.

The students were initially moved to higher floors as the floodwater continued to surge to 1.7 meters deep.

Some of the male teachers waded through chest-deep waters to bring in small amounts of water and food to the trapped students.

“After we moved the students to a safe place, many of our young teachers who can swim went to get some supplies for our students since they didn’t have time to get lunch when the flood occurred,” said Tan Baobiao, the deputy principal of the school.

The local fire department deployed close to 100 firefighters to bring food to the trapped students and faculty members, and then relocate them to safety in batches.

As of 21:00 Friday, all of the people trapped in the school had been relocated. No casualties were reported.

The flood caused more than three million yuan of damage to the school. Most of the school’s equipment was damaged and the school needs to be cleaned and sterilized before it reopens.