The death toll from the storm in China’s Henan province has risen to 33. At least eight people are still missing. More than 376,000 people have been evacuated since the heavy rain started last Friday.
Most people died in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, 25. This is where the amount of rain that normally falls in a year fell in three days. According to meteorologists, this type of rainfall occurs once every “thousand years”. City streets had turned into raging rivers, with cars drifting. Electricity went out in many places.
The metro system in the city was also flooded. Videos circulated on social media of people standing in water up to their shoulders in trains. At least 12 people were killed in the metro system.
Angry citizens on Chinese social media platforms wonder why the subway was not shut down during the heavy rain. “Why were travellers still allowed in when the water on the streets was already about the waist?” one of them wonders.
The problems do not appear to be over yet, as more heavy rain is expected on Thursday. Residents of the capital are moving their cars to higher ground, while meteorologists warn of landslides and new floods.
