Without government warning, late-night floods stole away young and old, survivors in China say

All day Tuesday, Gao Longtao’s phone kept buzzing with alerts from the local government: Heavy rains would be pelting his hometown, Xingtai, about 220 miles southwest of Beijing, the notices said.

The rain came in sheets. But even when the electricity went out at about 10 p.m., no one in his village,...