Severe flooding in China - hundreds trapped in the subway

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A man tries to push his scooter through the water in Zhengzhou

Photo:

Li An / imago images / Xinhua

The heaviest rainfall in decades has triggered massive flooding in the central Chinese metropolis of Zhengzhou.

It was initially unclear whether there were fatalities.

State media reported at least twelve deaths.

Many streets in Zhengzhou were flooded.

Cars and buses got stuck.

The water and electricity supply was interrupted in many places.

Traffic was practically paralyzed.

The subway network came to a standstill, high-speed trains were suspended.

Zhengzhou Airport canceled 270 flights.

Hundreds of people were also apparently trapped in trains and in tunnels, as state media and eyewitnesses reported on social media.

Videos can be seen how the water was sometimes up to their shoulders.

Emergency services were on duty.

During evacuations, around 600 seriously ill patients had to be brought to safety from a hospital at Zhengzhou University.

In addition, the power in the clinic had failed.

“Such rains usually only happen once every 100 years.

The situation is grim, "reported the China Daily" crisis management team in the provincial capital of Henan, which has nine million inhabitants.

The rains in Henan were caused by typhoon "In-Fa".

The cyclone also caused severe weather in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.

The province of Henan has been hit by heavy rains since last week.

The water levels of the Yellow River and Haihe River tributaries exceeded alert levels.

More heavy rainfall and flooding were expected.

More than 10,000 people have already been evacuated to safety in the past few days.

The damage to agriculture runs into the millions.

Severe storms were also reported from southern China, where another typhoon called "Cempaka" hit land near the city of Yangjiang with wind speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour in the province of Guangdong.

There were also severe floods in Inner Mongolia in northern China.

mjm / dpa