emirates7 - Continuous heavy rainfall and increased upstream water flow have led to severe flooding in two counties of Guizhou Province, southwest China, resulting in large-scale evacuations.

By 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, approximately 48,900 people had been temporarily relocated from Rongjiang County, and 32,000 from Congjiang County. Authorities have raised the flood emergency response in both counties to Level I, the highest alert level.

Rongjiang, home to the popular Cun Chao rural football league — which features over 100 village teams and attracts fans from across the country — experienced intense downpours starting at 8 p.m. on Monday. By 2 p.m. Tuesday, water levels at a Duliu River monitoring site had risen 6.68 meters above the warning line.

The Cun Chao stadium’s football field was submerged under three meters of floodwater.

Rescue operations are ongoing, with firefighters and volunteers using boats and specialized equipment to assist in both counties.

Elsewhere in Guizhou, heavy rain triggered landslides that led to the partial collapse of a bridge on an expressway in Sandu County. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported so far.