Bus submerged

Bao Jinmei, the single mother of a female candidate in Shexian, said the county faced a similar situation.

When students and their family members woke in the morning, they found many roads engulfed by flooding.

On Tuesday, the Shexian government said the downpour, which started the previous night, was the heaviest for 50 years.

A female student told China Youth Daily her school sent a bus to collect her and other students, but half the vehicle was underwater and could not move.

Rescue workers sent boats to pick up trapped students, but there were not enough for all of them.

A taxi driver, surnamed Huang, said he returned home at midnight on Monday. There had been quite a lot of rain recently, but the water level in local rivers "was not very dangerous", he said, adding that he parked his cab on high ground to ensure it was safe.

Rain fell in the area throughout the night.