Shocking images of flooding in China after historic rains

At least three people have died today in China after heavy rains considered “historic” in central Henan province which put the capital, Zhengzhou, on high alert and forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.local media reported.

According to the source, More than 144,000 people have been affected by the rain, which in Zhengzhou left 457.5 millimeters in 24 hours, a record in the files.

Zhengzhou, a huge metropolis about 700 kilometers southwest of Beijing, has been placed on red alert due to heavy rainfall.

National television CCTV showed the city streets submerged as locals pushed their vehicles up to their knees.

Zhengzhou Weather Services rated the precipitation as the heaviest in one day since records began 60 years ago.

Downtown, The floods reached over a meter high in the metro and the footage suggests that it was something relatively sudden, as there were still passengers at the stations, many of whom ended up with the water at- above the waist, while others stood in the seats.

Subsequently, the operating company declared to close all stations on its lines due to bad weather. At that time, they were already completely filled with water.

According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, firefighters are managing to reduce the level of flooding in the subway tunnel and in the stricken cars of the city’s Line 5, and travelers are currently out of danger. although the videos showed several strongly affected.

In the streets, the scene was just as dramatic. Weather authorities issued the highest alert level for central Henan Province, with TV cameras showing residents rescued on rafts, cars floating or blown away by water currents.

The first provisional report from the People’s Daily State newspaper indicated that at least one person had died and two others had been missing since the heavy rains began on Monday, and that several houses collapsed.

Local media had previously reported that two people died when a wall collapsed in another part of the city, but the death toll is expected to increase in the coming hours given the gravity of the situation.

Besides Zhengzhou, the other cities affected since Monday are Luoyang, Xuchang, Pingdingshan and Nanyang. The heaviest rains were recorded in Lushan County of Pingdingshan City, with 400.8mm of precipitation.

A total of 16 large and medium reservoirs saw water levels rise above the alert level after torrential rains hit most of the province on Monday and Tuesday. Heavy rains are expected to hit the central, western and northern parts of the province over the next 24 hours.

The Yellow River Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources issued a blue alert for flood conditions in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and a Level IV emergency response for weather disasters.

The Chinese army warned on Tuesday of the imminent risk of a dam rupture in the center of the country, affected by torrential rains.

The regional command of the People’s Liberation Army said in a statement that a 20-meter ditch had been opened at the Yihetan Dam in Luoyang in the Henan region, warning that it “could break at any time.”