The disaster struck Huangmei county in Hubei province early on Wednesday, according to rescue services. Another 40 people were rescued and moved to shelter.

This year's annual floods come as China appears to have won at least a temporary victory over the coronavirus outbreak that is believed to have originated in Hubei's provincial capital of Wuhan late last year.

The floods have left more than 120 people dead or missing across several provinces.

State broadcaster CCTV showed scenes of towns inundated with head-high waters in parts of Anhui province.

Waters rose above warning levels in 19 rivers, five lakes and more than 400 reservoirs in Anhui, a mountainous inland region just west of Shanghai and other major urban centers along the east coast.

Nearly 30,000 people were moved in Hubei's Huanggang city after water started seeping from a reservoir, prompting emergency workers to shore up the structure and dig a channel to release the overflow.

The flooding has forced the rescheduling of portions of the crucial four-day national college entrance exams for some students. The test had already been delayed for a month because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Anhui and neighbouring Hubei appear to have been hardest by this summer's seasonal rains.

Australian Associated Press