Rescue teams have been deployed to the two affected counties, where the flood control emergency response has been raised to the highest level, state news agency Xinhua reported.

In one affected county, Rongjiang, a football field was "submerged under three meters of water", the news agency said.

One resident Long Tian told Xinhua "the water rose very quickly".

"I stayed on the third floor waiting for rescue. By the afternoon, I had been transferred to safety," Long said.

Around 80,900 people had left their homes as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Xinhua.

China is enduring a summer of extreme weather.

This week, authorities issued the second-highest heat warning for the capital Beijing on one of its hottest days of the year so far.

And tens of thousands of people were evacuated last week in the central Chinese province of Hunan due to heavy rain.