A year of rain in three days.
This is what fell in Zhengzhou this Wednesday morning, in the province of Henan (pronounced: "djangue-djo"), in the center of the country, 700 km south of Beijing.
Since then, impressive and sometimes shocking videos have been pouring in on the Internet and social networks.
They are often picked up by the smartphones of witnesses.
Not all are verified, which is why we favor those relayed by local journalists or correspondents.
The city streets submerged
Between Saturday night and Tuesday night, 617.1mm of rain fell in Zhengzhou, almost as much as the city's annual average of 640.8mm.
For example, it is also the equivalent of the amount of rain that the city of Paris receives each year.
154 mm of rain fell on July 14 in Cologne, Germany.
In #Zhengzhou we are talking about 200 mm in ... 1 hour.
https://t.co/k1WxjYpfMg
- Stéphane Lagarde (@StephaneLagarde) July 20, 2021
#Breaking 201.9mm of rain for an hour (4-5 p.m.) in #Zhengzhou, #china #henan record in history.
@arnauldmiguet @ GaelC21 pic.twitter.com/86usMoibi9
- FranceTVChine (@francetvchine) July 20, 2021
Catastrophic situation in the metro where 12 people died
According to an initial assessment, 12 people died in the undergrounds of the metro, flooded by bad weather.
There are many images of users looking for an exit.
Others, inside a wagon, have water up to their waists.
A Chinese blogger specializing in railways, claimed that there were victims in the subway in #Zhengzhou following the floods.
pic.twitter.com/iKz05OA88w
- Zhulin Zhang (@ZhangZhulin) July 20, 2021
Red alert # torrential rains in #Zhengzhou #henan #chine subway flooded with victims @francetvchine @ GaelC21 @franceinfo @ infofrance2 @ infofrance3 pic.twitter.com/4BHZqj6w3d
- Arnauld Miguet (@arnauldmiguet) July 20, 2021
La gente que se quedó atrapada en los vagones inundados del metro de #Zhengzhou escapa como puede por el bordillo de los túneles.
pic.twitter.com/DC0HNJZSpG
- Javier García 随 风 (@javihagen) July 20, 2021
A woman was rescued by other residents in what appears to be a city parking lot.
🇨🇳 FLASH - A woman was narrowly saved during flooding in #Zhengzhou, #China.
(cookies) pic.twitter.com/yLlnEL7tyC
- Mediavenir (@Mediavenir) July 20, 2021
Impact on factories and dams
The Yihetan dam "may give way at any moment," the Chinese military warned.
According to several local media, another roadblock in Guojiaju broke overnight.
According to Reuters, local authorities are talking about a breach in the Guojiazui reservoir.
If confirmed, it would be the third in 48 hours in China, with two dams failing in Inner Mongolia on July 18.
Dam collapses in China's #Zhengzhou city due to major #flooding
▪️It has become the third dam to collapse in 48 hours
▪️China has raised the nationwide flood emergency responce level.
pic.twitter.com/9bCqePgjEo
- EHA News (@eha_news) July 20, 2021
A submerged aluminum factory would have exploded, not far from the city of Zhengzhou, according to correspondents of France Televisions in China.
#Breaking #China Explosion in an aluminum plant in #Henan.
Possible reason: the heavy rains of the night led to flooding the water entering the furnace causing an explosion. @ Arnauldmiguet @ GaelC21 pic.twitter.com/NEYENSBQ9h
- FranceTVChine (@francetvchine) July 20, 2021
