8-year-old survives 7 hours in sewer after being swept away in China floods
A remarkable survival story has emerged Amid record-setting floods in China’s southern province of Guizhou.
An 8-year-old girl was pulled into a drainage channel by rushing floodwaters while walking home from school in the city of Rongjiang on Monday, June 23, according to a statement from local fire officials, as reported by NBC News. She had stopped to retrieve a lost shoe when the torrent swept her into the underground system.
Rescuers said the child survived by grabbing onto a metal bar inside the pipe roughly 30 feet from the surface. Trapped for over seven hours in pitch darkness and heavy runoff, the girl was eventually rescued, soaked and shivering, but without serious injuries.
“This first-grade girl fought against the pitch-black darkness, coldness and constant fear with amazing calmness and perseverance,” local authorities said in a statement, according to NBC News.
The dramatic rescue comes as catastrophic flooding has gripped Guizhou and other parts of southern China. “Some areas had over 7 inches of rain on Sunday and Monday,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said.
According to China’s state news agency Xinhua, more than 80,000 people have been evacuated in Guizhou alone, and at least six people have died in the province as of June 26.
An aerial photo shows flooded buildings in Rongjiang, in China’s southwest Guizhou province on June 24, 2025. Severe flooding in China’s southwestern province of Guizhou has forced more than 80,000 people to flee their homes, Beijing’s state media said on June 25. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
Rescuers help a student to evacuate at Tian’e County Ethnic High School in Tian’e County of Hechi, southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 23, 2025. More than 400 ninth-grade students and 30 teachers were evacuated Monday, one day before the senior high school entrance examination, as days of torrential rains triggered flooding at an exam venue in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China. (Photo by Ao Xuelian/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Infrastructure has been damaged, roads cut off, and homes and shops heavily damaged. New rounds of rainstorms are forecast to bring even more flooding to the region.
“There will be scattered showers and thunderstorms in Guizhou province this weekend. Local downpours can aggravate flooding concerns given the already saturated ground,” Nicholls said. “The threat for heavy rain may shift north of these areas early next week as the meiyu front lifts a bit but there will still be a daily shower and thunderstorm risk.”
People conduct silt removal operations in Xiajiang Town, Congjiang County, Guizhou Province, China, on June 25, 2025. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Chinese government has launched a ‘Level III’ emergency response and pledged emergency funds to assist in rebuilding roads, flood defenses, hospitals and schools.
