Status: 07/20/2021 11:47 p.m.
In China, heavy rains have caused severe flooding. The flood also trapped hundreds of people in a subway. According to state media, 12 people have died in the floods so far.
The heaviest rainfall in decades has triggered massive flooding in the central Chinese metropolis of Zhengzhou. State media reported twelve deaths, but the exact number of victims was initially unclear. The floods flooded the subway, where hundreds of people were trapped in trains and also in tunnels, as reported by state media and eyewitnesses on social media.
Videos could be seen how the water was up to their shoulders. Emergency services were on duty. During evacuations, around 600 seriously ill patients had to be brought to safety from a hospital at Zhengzhou University. In addition, the power in the clinic had failed.
Water and power supply interrupted in many places.
“Such rains usually only happen once in 100 years. The situation is grim,” reported the China Daily crisis management team in the provincial capital of Henan, which has nine million inhabitants. Many streets in Zhengzhou were flooded. Cars and buses got stuck. The water and electricity supply was interrupted in many places.
Vehicles stand on a flooded road in central China’s Henan Province.
Image: dpa
10,000 people evacuated in Henan Province
Traffic was practically paralyzed. The subway network came to a standstill, high-speed trains were suspended. Zhengzhou Airport canceled 270 flights. At first, state media reported one dead and two missing, but the situation was unclear. The rains in Henan were caused by typhoon “In-Fa”. The cyclone also caused severe weather in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.
The province of Henan has been hit by heavy rains since last week. The water levels of the Yellow River and Haihe River tributaries exceeded alert levels. More heavy rainfall and flooding were expected. More than 10,000 people have already been evacuated to safety in the past few days. The damage to agriculture runs into the millions.
Severe storms were also reported from southern China, where another typhoon called “Cempaka” hit land near the city of Yangjiang with wind speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour in Guangdong province. There were also severe floods in Inner Mongolia in northern China.