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Severe flooding in China’s northern Hebei province and northeastern Liaoning province submerged roads and swept away cars, while people swam and paddle-boarded along neighbourhood streets, videos on social media showed.
Water levels rose to more than two metres on roads in Kuancheng, a county in Hebei, according to a resident’s account that was broadcast by local official media.
Kuancheng is home to around 240,000 people and is located on the banks of the Luan River.
Around 1,800 villagers in Kuancheng were stranded, state broadcaster CCTV reported, while authorities said that relocating and resettling residents was their top priority. In Liaoning, authorities raised the red alert for flash floods, warning of very high risks.
“During a red alert for heavy rain, all work stoppages, business closures, and gatherings must be fully implemented,” Hebei authorities said in a statement on WeChat.
Videos on RedNote, known in China as Xiaohongshu, showed a person swimming backstroke down a road in Shenyang, Liaoning, which had rows of parked cars with only the tops of the vehicles visible above the water. Another clip on RedNote showed someone standing on a paddleboard to navigate the flooded streets.
Many trains in Shenyang have been suspended, China Railway said on Monday, with more than 30 railway sections affected.