A man rides a bicycle through a flooded intersection in Zhengzhou in central China s Henan province on July 20. (Chinatopix via AP)
BEIJING China’s military has blasted a dam to release floodwaters threatening one of its most heavily populated provinces, as the death toll in widespread flooding rose to at least 25.
The dam operation was carried out late Tuesday night in the city of Luoyang, just as severe flooding overwhelmed the Henan provincial capital of Zhengzhou, trapping residents in the subway system and stranding them at schools, apartments and offices.
Another seven people were reported missing, provincial officials said at a news conference.
Terrified subway passengers in central China have been left clinging to ceiling handles inside flooded cars on Tuesday, trapped up to their necks in rising water, as record-breaking rains devastated parts of Henan province.
At least 12 people have been confirmed dead in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, where more than 20 centimeters of rain fell in one hour on Tuesday, according to China s meteorological observatory.
All of the bodies recovered were taken from the city s subway system, provincial authorities said.
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Passengers have been rescued from a flooded subway in China during days of record-breaking rain, July 2021.(Nine News)
More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from Zhengzhou, a city of 12.6 million on the banks of the Yellow River, with thousands of emergency personnel deployed to assist in the effort, state media reported.
China Flooding: Heaviest Rain In 1000 Years; Foxconn Says Its Zhengzhou Factory Not Impacted
07/21/21 AT 10:59 PM Henan s capital of Zhengzhou has been affected the most in the ongoing flooding crisis in the province. Photo: Creative Commons
KEY POINTS
Scientists have linked the heavy rainfall in the region to global warming
A dam had to be blasted in Luoyang city to prevent further flooding
Foxconn said its Zhengzhou factory has so far not been affected by the floods
More than a million people have been affected and at least 25 have died in what could be what some experts call Henan province’s heaviest rainfall in 1,000 years.
The Straits Times Please save us! Grim scenes in China as flood inundates a subway
A traffic police officer guides residents across a flooded road with a rope in Zhengzhou, on July 20, 2021.PHOTO: REUTERS
PublishedJul 22, 2021, 2:22 am SGT
https://str.sg/33Wu
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