More than 80,000 residents have been forced to evacuate their homes following intense flooding in China’s southwestern Guizhou province, according to state media reports on Wednesday.
State news agency Xinhua said emergency teams have been dispatched to the two worst-hit counties, where authorities have raised the flood control response to its highest alert level.
In Rongjiang County, one of the most severely impacted areas, a football pitch was reported to be submerged under three metres of water.
“The water rose very fast,” a resident, Long Tian, told Xinhua. “I waited for rescue on the third floor. By the afternoon, I had been taken to safety.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, approximately 80,900 people had been displaced by the flooding, according to official figures.
The latest crisis comes amid a summer of extreme weather across China.
Earlier this week, Beijing authorities issued the second-highest level of heat alert, as the capital experienced one of its hottest days so far this year.
Last week, tens of thousands were also evacuated in the central province of Hunan due to persistent heavy rainfall.
