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- At least 25 people have died in China’s central province of Henan as torrential rain continues
- A year’s worth of rain has fallen in just three days with officials calling it the heaviest rains for 1000 years
- Around 100,000 people have been evacuated from Zhengzhou and more than 500 passengers have been pulled from a flooding subway
- Similar to the flooding in Western Europe, scientists are certain this torrential rain is linked to global warming
- More rain is forecast for Henan in the next three days with an additional 5700 soldiers deployed to help with search and rescue efforts
At least 25 people have died in China’s central province of Henan as torrential rain continues.
A year’s worth of rain, 640 millimetres, fell in just three days with officials calling it the heaviest rains for 1000 years and authorities issuing the highest level of weather warning.
Around 100,000 people have been evacuated from the provincial capital Zhengzhou where dams and reservoirs have swelled to warning levels.
More than 500 people have been pulled to safety from the flooded subway as social media images and videos showed people immersed in chest-deep muddy water.
Many train and bus services have been disrupted and suspended across Henan with at least 10 trains carrying 10,000 passengers halted for more than 40 hours.
Chinese media has reported food and water supplies had run out for hundreds of people stuck on a train that stopped beyond city limits two days earlier.
Similar to the flooding experienced in Western Europe, scientists are highly certain the rainfall is linked to global warming.
“Such extreme weather events will likely become more frequent in the future,” Professor of atmospheric science at City University of Hong Kong Johnny Chan said.
“What is needed is for governments to develop strategies to adapt to such changes.”
Meanwhile, a blackout caused by the rain has shutdown ventilators at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.
Late Tuesday night, China’s military blasted a dam in the city of Luoyang to release the floodwaters in the heavily populated province.
“Flood prevention efforts have become very difficult,” President Xi Jinping commented.
More rain is forecast for Henan in the next three days with an additional 5700 soldiers deployed to help with search and rescue efforts.
