Authorities have evacuated nearly 60,000 people from their homes in Guangdong, as days of heavy rain caused massive flooding in China’s most populous province.
Eleven people have gone missing, while no casualties have been reported so far.
Footage on state media and online show large swathes of land inundated by the floods and rescuers ferrying people on lifeboats in waist-deep water.
Several major rivers have burst their banks, and authorities are closely monitoring “dangerously high” water levels.
They had warned that the level of a river in northern Guangdong could hit a “once in 100 years” peak on Monday morning, though this had yet to materialise by noon.
Much of Guangdong is part of the low-lying Pearl River delta, which is prone to floods due to watershed floods, sea level rise, and storm surges.
The delta is a major manufacturing base in China and one of the country’s most densely-populated regions, with Guangdong alone home to around 127 million people.
Provincial capital Guangzhou as well as smaller cities Shaoguan and Heyuan were among the worst hit.
Across the province, about 1.16 million households lost power over the weekend, but 80% had their electricity restored by Sunday night.
Flights have been cancelled and delayed at Baiyun International Airport in the capital city Guangzhou due to continuous rain, while schools have been ordered shut in at least three cities.
Dozens of homes across the province have either collapsed or have been severely damaged, with authorities estimating a direct economic loss of nearly 140.6m yuan ($19.8m).
Getty ImagesA river in Qingyuan city burst its banks and flooded an adjacent pier and roads
Videos shared online show fast-flowing rivers causing walls and bridges to collapse.
A Weibo user said his family is having trouble moving furniture from his ground floor to the upper floor of the house. “Half of the first floor of my house was flooded due to heavy rain,” the user wrote on Sunday night. “I wonder if the second floor will be flooded overnight. I feel helpless.”
“Last night while driving home, it rained like a waterfall for an hour and a half on the highway,” another user wrote on Weibo. He spoke at “You couldn’t see any roads.”
China’s meteorological authorities warned that coastal areas of Guangdong and neighboring Fujian province would experience heavy rain until at least Tuesday.
Other parts of the country, including Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, are also expected to experience “moderate to heavy” rain.
After a series of typhoons from the Pacific Ocean reached China last July, the Chinese capital Beijing and surrounding provinces such as Hebei province were inundated by heavy rains and floods.
This week, China’s capital recorded the most rainfall in 140 years.