Inner Mongolia was hardly flooded (5)
I believe the answer is:
awash
'flooded' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'inner mongolia was hardly' is the wordplay.
'inner' indicates a hidden word (I've seen 'in' mean this).
'AWASH' is hidden within 'mongolia was hardly'.
(Other definitions for awash that I've seen before include "Swimming" , "Flood" , "becomes flooded" , "Doused in water" , "Drenched" .)