JAKARTA - Most areas of Henan Province were submerged on Wednesday, July 21 local time, after what observers called the heaviest rain in the last thousand years hit the province.
With more rain forecast in Henan over the next three days, the government of Zhengzhou, a city of more than 12 million on the banks of the Yellow River, said 12 people were reported to have died on a flooded subway line, while more than 500 were evacuated to other secure areas.
Videos on social media on Tuesday showed the underground station turning into a large, churning pool, while passengers were submerged in water on the train, in darkness without power.
"The water was up to my chest", one survivor wrote on social media. "I was really scared, but what scares me the most is not the water, but the reduced air supply on the trains".
Because of the rain, the authorities stopped public bus services, because the vehicles are powered by electricity, said a Zhengzhou resident surnamed Guo, who was staying the night at his office.
"That's why so many people took the subway, and the tragedy happened", Guo told Reuters.
From Saturday evening to Tuesday evening, Zhengzhou's rainfall reaches 617.1 millimeters (mm). That is almost equivalent to the average annual rainfall of the province, located southwest of Beijing, of about 640.8 mm.
The amount of rainfall in Zhengzhou witnessed over the three days was seen only 'once in a thousand years', local media quoted meteorologists.
The increase in rainfall in Henan Province caused an increase in the volume of water in a number of rivers connected to the Yellow River.
The lives of millions of people in Henan, a province with a population of about 100 million people, have been changed by an unusually active monsoon that has caused the rise of a number of rivers in the vast Yellow River valley.
This caused train services to be suspended, roads in dozens of cities closed due to flooding, and flights were delayed or had to be canceled.
"Flood prevention efforts have become very difficult", President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, responding to the situation in a statement broadcast by state television.
This condition has also put dozens of reservoirs and dams on alert. Local authorities said heavy rains had caused the Yihetan Dam in Luoyang City to collapse 20 meters long, in danger of collapsing at any moment.
Meanwhile, in Zhengzhou, the local flood control headquarters said the city's Guojiazui dam had been breached but no dam had been breached.
This condition also caused Zhengzhou's transportation system to be paralyzed, with schools and hospitals cut off by standing water. Several children have been stuck in their kindergarten since Tuesday. Residents caught in the floods have taken refuge in libraries, cinemas, and even museums.
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"We have up to 200 people of all ages seeking temporary shelter", said a staff member surnamed Wang at the Zhengzhou Museum of Science and Technology.
"We have also given them instant noodles and hot water. They spend the night in a large meeting room", he said.
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