This is the terrifying moment a quick-thinking man in China hastily climbs a tree to safety as floodwaters suddenly rush towards him after a river bursts its bank.

Footage shows the moment the river overflowed, with floodwaters rushing towards the man filming it in the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, in China, on September 19.

He hastily retreats and quickly climbs a tree as the floodwaters surge around him.

As the deluge subsides, he climbs down from the tree and stands in the water, filming the floodwaters as the level recedes.

He said: 'Fortunately, I hugged the tree quickly; otherwise, I would have been swept away.'

He reportedly believed that it was at first a small tidal wave but quickly realised that it was, in fact, a flood.