Pigs are seen at pig farmer Chang Xianyun's pigsty in Neixiang County, central China's Henan Province, Nov. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Lu Yun)

 Heavy downpours unseen for decades have hit North China's Shanxi Province in recent days, leaving not only ancient buildings in this treasure house of the country in peril, but also farmers' most valued treasures, such as livestock. 

A pigsty in the province's county of Xiaoyi, which had ordered its residents to urgently evacuate from the region, was flooded amid torrential rains, killing all 800 pigs except for only two, causing a total of over two million yuan ($310,000) in losses for the pigsty owner, The Paper reported on Tuesday. 

The pigsty owner, surnamed Zhao, was evacuated on Wednesday and came back to check out his pig farm two days later. He found all but two pigs had been drowned, floating on the rainwater surface that, judging by the looks in the video, reached about one meter deep. 

There were pig carcasses floating everywhere, the video posted online showed. Due to the low ground of the factory, the rainwater remained at a high level, and the two survivors were put onto the rooftop. 

"The whole village is drowned. The rain was so heavy that there was no time left to find place for resettlement for livestock or equipment but only villagers," Zhao's little brother said in the video. 

Zhao made himself a little boat made of car tires. He uses his boat every day to feed the two "lucky" survivors, who are still waiting on the rooftop for resettlement. 

The loss is a heavy blow to Zhao and his family. All factory equipment, pig feeds, and other supplies for raising the pigs have been damaged, and Zhao still has loans that need to be paid. What's more, he has four children, all attending schools.

The heavy rainfall started on October 2 and broke the precipitation record of the province with an average of 119 millimeters, causing 37 rivers to flood, Shanxi authorities said at a Tuesday press conference. 

Fifteen were killed and three are still missing as of Tuesday after torrential rains battered Shanxi, causing floods and landslides, media reported. More than 1.75 million people in 76 counties of 11 Shanxi cities have been affected and 120,100 displaced.

Global Times