
Dozens Of Cities Flooded In China, Millions Affected
Floods in central China killed at least 25 people after a year's worth of rain fell in 3 days. At least 1.5 million people are displaced. President Xi Jinping says the situation is “extremely severe” after the city of Zhengzhou saw a year’s worth of rain in just three days.
Rescue workers in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province
— Sparta (@SpartaZC) July 21, 2021
save a stranded woman from the flood on July 20, 2021.#YACnews #ChinaFloods pic.twitter.com/NBd2HLS4tC
In Zhengzhou at least 12 people were killed, including some inside the underground rail system. Images shared on social media showed passengers up to their necks in water and clinging to the handrails inside a carriage on Zhengzhou’s subway. Other passengers filmed videos of the water rising in the tunnels outside the carriage windows.
People were trapped in the metro in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province due to flooding on July 20, 2021. #YACnews #ChinaFlooding pic.twitter.com/iyh6KXECan
— Sparta (@SpartaZC) July 21, 2021
Henan province has been battered by storms since the weekend in an unusually active rainy season, causing rivers to burst their banks, flooding a dozen cities and affecting millions of people. The amount of rainfall in Zhengzhou was the most for 60 years as the city experienced the amount of rainfall it usually gets in a year in just three days.
Overnight, authorities warned the deluge had created a 66 foot breach in the Yihetan dam in Luoyang, a city of approximately seven million people, posing the risk of collapse. As part of the emergency response, PLA soldiers performed blasting and flood diversion.
Dam Burst in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province due to heavy rains on July 20, 2021. #YACnews #ChinaFloods pic.twitter.com/lcvqydCFIW
— Sparta (@SpartaZC) July 21, 2021
A large number of firefighters and troops were dispatched to the region to aid in the search and rescue effort.
The threat of catastrophic floods has increased dramatically across China, mainly in part due to the widespread construction of mega dams and levees.