On March 31, 2024, a fierce windstorm passed over Nanchang, situated in Jiangxi Province, China, resulting in the tragic deaths of three people who were forcefully pulled out of their high-rise apartments. The victims were residents of a southern waterfront community in the city and were asleep when the storm tore through their homes around 3 a.m.
The storm, which affected nine urban areas including Nanchang and Jiujiang, led to at least seven fatalities. The Jiangxi Provincial Emergency Flood Control Headquarters reported that the harsh weather conditions affected approximately 93,000 residents across 54 counties.
The victims from the high-rise included a 64-year-old woman, her 11-year-old grandson, and another woman, age 60. Their identities were unveiled in a local neighborhood group chat and later confirmed by emergency services according to reports from Jimu News, a news outlet based in Hubei.
The story of the 60-year-old woman has stirred nationwide attention, prompting extensive dialogue on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. By Monday, posts about the incident had been viewed over 300 million times. Video clips from the scene showed the extensive damage to her 11th-floor apartment, with a large gap where windows used to be. The remnants of a bed frame and shredded curtains were discernible amid the debris.
A detailed narrative by the woman’s partner, identified only as Mr. Wan, depicted the horrifying moments when he was awakened by the storm’s wrath. In an interview with local media, he recounted waking up at 3 a.m. to the disarray caused by the storm and the shattering of his balcony’s glass due to the wind. He had slept in a separate room from his partner that night and went to wake her. “I ran to the room to get my partner but got no answer when I called out,” he said. He later found her body outside the apartment building, a fact his daughter shared with reporters.
Another heartbreaking case involved the 64-year-old woman and her grandson, with the surnames Liu and Xu, who were in a shared bedroom on the 20th floor. They were carried away by the storm along with their mattress.
Media reports in the aftermath of the disaster showed several apartments in the neighborhood with their glass facades ripped off, leaving behind twisted frames. This has prompted questions about the construction quality of the affected high-rise buildings. Notably, a former manager at the development company who was convicted of bribery has come under scrutiny. However, it remains uncertain whether his actions had any direct impact on the buildings’ structural integrity.
Despite assertions that the glass facades were installed by a decoration company chosen by the owners, the incident has ignited a wider debate over construction standards and regulatory oversight.
