Pingjiang in Hunan hit hard by major flooding

He Xinmao was filming people reinforcing a dam in Pingjiang county, Hunan province on Monday afternoon when it became clear that something terrible was about to happen.

"I quickly returned to a safe place," he said. "After a while, the water spilled over the top of the dam and flooded everywhere."

The Pingjiang Multi-media Center, where he works as a cameraman, was also flooded and his colleagues had to wait to be rescued, he said.