Eps 1: In China today, Zhengzhou, Henan, has a deeply touched natural disaster event.
— fackBBC
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Jared Morris
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Dozens of people died on Wednesday after becoming trapped in flooded subways in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, which experts say was inundated by the heaviest rain in 1,000 years. Twelve people died and more than 500 were pulled to safety when subway tunnels were flooded, state media reported, while images on social media showed rail commuters submerged in chest-deep water and the dark one-way street turned into a large brown pool.
At least 25 people, including hundreds of passengers trapped in a flooded subway, died in Central China after torrential rains flooded several cities causing millions of dollars in damage. Horrifying videos showed terrified commuters being showered with water as trains were swept away by a raging tide at a subway station in the city in central Henan province. At least 12 people were trapped in subways and schools in China's provincial capital on Tuesday after heavy flooding washed away vehicles and left people stranded outside their jobs.
In the province of Henan rivers and dams were breached by record rainfall. President Xi Jinping referred to the situation as "serious" and flood control measures entered a "critical phase" on Wednesday, state media reported. The heaviest rainfall in the region since records began 60 years ago comes as scientists say that climate change is exacerbating floods around the globe and other extreme weather patterns. About 200,000 residents have been evacuated from Zhengzhou, local government officials said, and soldiers are leading rescue efforts in the city, which is experiencing the worst flooding in its history.
Recent massive floods in Europe, China, and the Middle East have affected nuclear power plants with leaks and blackouts. In China and northwestern Europe, the disaster followed a period of heavy rains similar to China's earlier this year, when three days of rain overwhelmed flood defences.
Schools and hospitals were flooded, and people affected by the floods flocked to shelters, libraries, cinemas and museums. Many were rescued, but at least 12 people died in flooded subways in Zhengzhou, China. The floods included the destruction of China's Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest.
People walk on a flooded street after a record rainfall in Zhengzhouchina on July 20, 2021. Vehicles are stranded after heavy downpours in the city of Zhengzhou in central China's Henan province on Tuesday, July 20. A woman stands on a flooded street in Henan, near Zhengzhou, China, on June 20, 2020.
Extensive flooding in China's Henan province has killed at least 25 people after heavy torrential rains, considered the heaviest in 1,000 years, flooded roads and subway systems in the region and prompted the evacuation of about 100,000 people, Xinhua News, China's state news agency, reported. A man wades through waist-high floodwaters after heavy rains in Zhengzhou, China, in central Henan province. Heavy rains have caused severe flooding in central China, with the subway system in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou swamped by torrential rain.
At least 25 people have been killed and seven missing after torrential rains hit central Henan province of China and caused landslides, flooding and flooded subway systems in Zhengzhou city. Authorities have upgraded flood defences in China to the highest level after record rainfall flooded Henan province earlier this week. President Xi Jinping said the situation was so serious that Zhengzhou had experienced years of rain in just three days.
Rescuers cut open the roofs of train carriages to bring people to safety, local media reported. Xinhua said 12 people had died and about 100,000 people had been taken to safe places. About 200,000 residents were evacuated Wednesday as troops led rescue efforts in the city of Zhengzhou, officials said.
A ship sank off the coast of Liberia and search and rescue operations are underway for those aboard the sunken vessel. A vehicle became stranded in floodwaters at Zhengzhou railway station on July 20, 2021. Violent currents streamed through the streets and threatened a catastrophe similar to the torrential rains in Germany and Belgium : people, cars and small buildings were swept away as rivers burst their banks.
When it rained again and again in Zhengzhou Province and the crisis continued to spread, the government rushed to help people in danger. Officials said food and water were running out, as was the public transport system. Rain brought bus service to a standstill in the city of 1.2 million people 650 kilometers southwest of Beijing, a resident surnamed Guo said, who spent the night in his office.
The floods which engulfed the line 5 of the Zhengzhou subway on Tuesday have added to the global death toll of extreme weather events that have continued all year, from scorching heat in the Pacific Northwest to wildfires in Siberia to floods in Germany and Belgium. Zhengzhou experienced a series of rare heavy rains that caused water to accumulate in the subway, city officials said on Wednesday in a Weibo post. At least 12 people were killed on the subway, five others were injured and more than 500 were rescued, authorities said.
Riyadh issued a thunderstorm warning for the kingdom on Monday as the region was hit by massive flooding. At least 25 people are dead and seven missing in central China after a flood of rain hit Henan province on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate, trapping passengers on subway lines and turning roads into rivers. Officials said more than a dozen towns in Henan were affected by the heavy rains, which affected 12.4 million people, and at least 160,000 people in the province were evacuated.
The Guojiaju Dam near the city of Zhengzhou experienced severe flooding today after a third dam collapsed in 48 hours. Footage of flooded vehicles moving through streams of water in a sandstorm.
Deadly floods have turned life upside down in China and Germany, and vividly reminded us that climate change is making the weather more extreme around the world. At least 25 people died Tuesday in Central China's province of Henan, including dozens trapped in an urban subway after days of torrential rain as water flowed through the regional capital, Zhengzhou. The imminent flooding last week killed at least 160 people in Germany and 31 in Belgium - disasters that reinforced the message that significant changes must be made in order to prepare for similar events in the future.