Storms claim five lives in Guangdong

Five people were killed when storms hit Huidong county, South China's Guangdong province, Friday.

The tragedy took place in Baima mountain in Huidong's Baipenzhu township when the five people travelling in the area were washed away and went missing Friday.

Local police, fire fighters and emergency rescuers immediately arrived in the scene when they were informed by locals.

But the search and rescue operation was challenging due to the complex terrain, turbulent water flow and the area being undeveloped and not open to the public.

Meanwhile, the continuous heavy rainfall and shortage of safe infrastructure, combined with low nighttime visibility also prevented and hindered the rescue operation, a statement released by Huidong county government said.

All the bodies of the missing people were found at 2:15 pm on Sunday.

Guangdong province has activated a Level-IV emergency response in anticipation of torrential rain, the provincial headquarters for flood, drought and wind control said on Sunday morning.

Parts of coastal cities and counties in eastern Guangdong and the southern Pearl River Delta are expected to experience extraordinary heavy downpours, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

The headquarters asked local authorities to intensify analysis and promptly activate emergency responses to ensure public safety and minimize disaster losses.