Chinese personnel swim, use boats to evacuate people in flood-hit areas

(Reuters)

HONG KONG, May 20 – Rescue workers used boats or swam through floodwaters to evacuate people in waterlogged areas across central and southwest China on Wednesday ​after torrential rain killed at least 25 people and shut ‌businesses, schools and transport links.

Heavy rain is expected to continue across southern and central parts of the country, including Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan, with ​high risks of landslides, flash floods and severe urban flooding and ​waterlogging, authorities said.

In Dachong, a town in southern Guangdong, scooters ⁠were submerged with only parts of the handlebars visible, while rescue staff ​in an inflatable boat rescued a man who had climbed a tree ​to escape the flooding, videos on Chinese platform Douyin showed.

In the central province of Hubei, emergency and military personnel were seen helping residents escape danger, many of them senior ​citizens.

Elderly residents were rescued from their homes by boats, with some staff ​swimming inside buildings to reach trapped residents, footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed.

One scene broadcast ‌by ⁠CCTV showed rescuers struggling to reach a man trapped in chest-high water behind a door. It said they took an hour to get him to safety.