China Flood: 25 Residents Killed, Majority Trapped In Subway

Illustration of a flood in China. (Wikimedia Commons/Chase Chesser)

JAKARTA - At least 25 people have died in China's Henan Province, which was hit by floods after the heaviest rains in the past 1,000 years. A dozen of them are on a subway line in the capital Zhengzhou.

About 100,000 people have been evacuated in Zhengzhou, with transportation on highways and rail lines disrupted, as well as reservoirs and dams in the province under a warning.

Thousands of soldiers were deployed to help overcome the disaster that occurred. The People's Liberation Army has dispatched more than 5,700 troops and personnel to assist in search and rescue.

On the subway, 12 people died and more than 500 people were evacuated from flooded trains, state media said. Meanwhile, social media images showed train commuters submerged in chest-deep waters in darkness and one station turned into a large brown pool.

"The water was up to my chest. I was really scared, but the scariest thing was not the water, but the reduced air supply on the train," one survivor wrote on social media.

The rain stopped bus services in the city of 12 million people about 650 km (400 miles) southwest of Beijing, said a resident surnamed Guo, who had to spend the night in his office.

"That's why so many people took the subway, and the tragedy happened," Guo told Reuters.

At least 25 people have died in heavy rains that have hit the province since the weekend, with seven people missing, officials said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Media said the death toll included four residents of Gongyi City, which lies on the Yellow River bank like Zhengzhou, following the collapse of houses and buildings due to the rain.

"Flood prevention efforts have become very difficult," Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a statement carried by state television.

From Saturday to Tuesday, 617.1 mm (24.3 inches) of rain fell in Zhengzhou, almost equivalent to an average annual rainfall of 640.8 mm (25.2 inches). Three days of rain matched a rate seen only "once in a thousand years", the Zhengzhou weather bureau said.

"Such extreme weather events are likely to become more frequent in the future," said Johnny Chan, a professor of atmospheric science at City University of Hong Kong.

"What is needed is for the government to develop strategies to adapt to such changes," he added, referring to authorities at the municipal, provincial and national levels.

The condition of a number of reservoirs and dams is under strict monitoring by the authorities. After the Yihetan Dam in Luoyang City west of Zhengzhou collapsed for 20 meters, it could collapse at any time.

I hope they are all safe and sound #ChinaFloods pic.twitter.com/O0n7VdGv81

— Rishi Shukla ✨ (@say810_) July 20, 2021