China’s weather agency on Monday issued a red alert, its highest warning level, for heavy rain across multiple eastern provinces.
Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed swollen rivers, flooded farmlands, and residents being evacuated on rubber dinghies on Sunday.
The annual flooding season started earlier than usual this year in China’s south, with intense storms sweeping away bridges, destroying low-rise homes, devastating agricultural output and inundating numerous cities.
Several areas may experience more torrential rain over the next two weeks as a persistent rain belt shifts northwards, state media reported, quoting the National Meteorological Center.