A man rides a bicycle through a flooded intersection in Zhengzhou, central China’s Henan Province, on Tuesday. The Chinese army has built a dam to drain the flood waters that threaten one of its most populous provinces.
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A man rides a bicycle through a flooded intersection in Zhengzhou, central China’s Henan Province, on Tuesday. The Chinese army has built a dam to drain the flood waters that threaten one of its most populous provinces.
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BEIJING – China’s military has built a dam to release floodwaters threatening one of its most populous provinces, as the death toll from widespread flooding rose to at least 25.
The dam was implemented late Tuesday night in Luoyang City, as severe floods swept through the provincial capital of Henan Zhengzhou, trapping residents in the subway system and stranding schools, apartments and offices.
Provincial officials told a news conference that seven more people were missing.
A video posted on Twitter by the news site ‘The Paper’ showed subway commuters standing in chest-high muddy brown water as torrential rain erupted in the tunnel outside.
Transportation and work were disrupted across the county, as rain turned streets into fast-flowing rivers, washing cars and spilling into people’s homes.
At least 10 trains carrying about 10,000 passengers, including three, have been stopped for more than 40 hours, according to CaixinBusiness News Magazine. The Ministry of Transport said on its social media account that parts of 26 highways were closed due to rain.
The power outage shut down respirators at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, forcing staff to use manually-pumped airbags to help patients breathe, according to the city’s Communist Party Committee. She added that more than 600 patients were transferred to other hospitals.
People walk in floodwaters along a street in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, on Tuesday. Severe floods have killed many people in Zhengzhou, with residents trapped in the subway system and stranded in schools, apartments and offices.
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People walk in floodwaters along a street in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, on Tuesday. Severe floods have killed many people in Zhengzhou, with residents trapped in the subway system and stranded in schools, apartments and offices.
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A woman on a subway in a flooded tunnel told her husband that the water almost reached her neck and that passengers were having trouble breathing. Henan Business Daily The newspaper reported.
She added that workers at a subway station told her husband that all passengers had been evacuated, but they admitted that was not the case after he started a video chat with his wife on his mobile phone showing that she was still on board.
The exact times and locations of the deaths and disappearances were not immediately clear, though the county said more than 100,000 people had been evacuated to safety.
Cars were stranded after heavy rain in Zhengzhou city on Tuesday. Heavy floods hit central China after unusually heavy rains.
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Cars were stranded after heavy rain in Zhengzhou city on Tuesday. Heavy floods hit central China after unusually heavy rains.
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Henan Province has many cultural sites and is a major base for industry and agriculture. It intersects with multiple watercourses, many of which are connected to the Yellow River, which has a long history of bursting its banks during periods of heavy rainfall.
On Wednesday, state media showed the water at waist height, with the rain continuing.
To the north of Zhengzhou, the famous Shaolin Temple, known for Buddhist monks’ mastery of martial arts, was also badly damaged.
China routinely experiences floods during the summer, but the growth of cities and the conversion of farmland into subdivisions have exacerbated the impact of such events.
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