Heavy downpours have severely hit southern, central, and eastern parts of China, with the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River worst affected.

Weeks of heavy rains have swelled rivers and lakes, causing floods and landslides. The country has raised the emergency response for flood control in the Yangtze River and riverside areas to Level II, the second-highest. In East China's Jiangxi province, local authorities upgraded the disaster response to the highest level as Dongting and Poyang lakes rose to "dangerous levels".

As of July 10, the economic loss from the floods has reached nearly $10 billion, with about 34 million people affected.

In Central China's Hubei province, the flooding has snapped power and communication lines, damaging dozens of local highways and hampering the rescue and relief work. Rescue workers on the scene are seen lifting people on their shoulders, and diving into water to unlock doors.

In Southwest China's Guizhou province, rescue workers are also doing anything they can to save lives.

"We've been here since three o'clock in the afternoon. Because of the flooding, we have to make sure that people do not get in there... and ensure their safety," Han Kexi, police officer from Guizhou province's Daozhen county told CGTN.

In Wuyishan city of Southeast China's Fujian province, firefighters found a family of four, one of them a seven-day-old baby, trapped in a house.

In another rescue mission in the city, workers helped a five-year-old boy and his family who were stranded in the middle of a flooded street. They set up a rope bridge for them while one of them carried the young boy in his arms.

The local meteorological department has warned that torrential rain will continue to batter parts of Wuyishan city in the coming days and the water levels in local river basins will continue to rise.