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China: torrential rains create chaos in east, dam threatens to collapse

2021-07-20T18:20:01.988Z


Henan province in east-central China was hit by torrential rains on Tuesday. At least three people lost


Germany and Belgium are not the only ones having to face the vagaries of the weather.

In China, in the province of Henan, the bad weather caused impressive floods.

In Zhengzhou City, cars were even washed away, resulting in images that were barely believable.

🇨🇳 China: 🌧️ Zhengzhou city hit by severe flooding on Tuesday in Henan province



(đź“ą via @ShanghaiEye) pic.twitter.com/aMIcmRcWxb

- Alexandre (@alex_le_bars) July 20, 2021

This metropolis of 4.5 million inhabitants found itself completely paralyzed and several metro trains were also submerged under water at the height of rush hour.

Several videos circulate in which we see metro users standing on the seats to avoid drowning.

1/3 Some really distressing videos coming out of Zhengzhou in central China - this driver looks rather calm under pressure.

But other videos on WeChat show what appear to be people clearly struggling to keep their heads above the flood waters.

Death toll so far is 1, 2 missing pic.twitter.com/P8dEk1B1iC

- Bill Birtles (@billbirtles) July 20, 2021

The city's metro company has announced the closure of the network.

According to the People's Daily, the bad weather also caused houses to collapse.

For now, no official report is available.

A dam "can collapse at any moment," the authorities warned, raising fears of a disaster of an even greater magnitude.

200 mm of rain in a few hours in Zhengzhou

Zhengzhou Weather Services recorded the heaviest rainfall since records began 60 years ago. Indeed, over the last four days, more than 150 weather stations have recorded levels of more than 250 mm of rain, according to Reuters. Over this time, the figures even rise to 500 mm in the city of Lushan. In Zhengzhou, 200 mm of rain fell in a few hours. The metropolis had been placed on red alert due to heavy rainfall. More than 10,000 people had been evacuated preventively. However, floods are not exceptional during the rainy season in China and the country has increased the construction of dams and dikes supposed to contain water and prevent flooding. However,some dams are not adapted to the great floods as they have been observed in recent hours in Henan province. Not all infrastructures are equally efficient.

Threatened economic and cultural sectors

These bad weather significantly threaten the economy of the region.

Indeed, the province of Henan is a major logistics hub in China.

However, for the moment, all rail services in the province have been suspended, as have many air links.

Several roads were also closed.

The cultural heritage of the region is also threatened.

The Yi River, which has been in flood for several days, risks flooding the Longmen Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng City had to be temporarily closed.

Read also China: a hole in the street swallows several passers-by

According to the weather forecast, the rains should gradually subside until it stops completely by Thursday.

Source: leparis

All news articles on 2021-07-20

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