The Borneo Post

Chinese town counts costs of deadly floods

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ZHENGZHOU, China: Piles of cars were strewn across a central Chinese city yesterday as shocked residents picked through the debris of a historic deluge that claimed at least 33 lives, with rescue efforts ongoing as more heavy rain threatens surroundin­g regions.

An unpreceden­ted downpour dumped a year’s rain in just three days on the city of Zhengzhou, weather officials said, instantly overwhelmi­ng drains and sending torrents of muddy water through streets, road tunnels and the subway system.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the area surroundin­g the city were also affected by the floods, with farmland inundated and road and rail links severed.

In worst-hit Zhengzhou, grim images of horror inside the subway system were relayed in real-time over social media, showing water rising during Tuesday’s rush hour from the ankles of passengers to their necks.

At least a dozen people died before rescuers were able to cut survivors free from carriages.

Questions were starting to swirl yesterday over how prepared authoritie­s were for the disaster. Angry users took to Weibo to question why the metro was not closed earlier, with one thread racking up more than 92 million views yesterday.

“Why was it that water levels on the street were almost waisthigh, but the subway was still allowing commuters in?” asked one.

In a sign of mounting pressure, the transport ministry put out a statement ordering rail operators nationally to “absorb the lessons of recent incidents and... improve their emergency plans,” warning them to close stations quickly when faced with severe weather.

As the water retreated – with piles of cars a monument to its deadly power – residents prepared for another day of bad weather yesterday, moving vehicles to higher ground and trying to plot journeys out from the stricken city, where communicat­ions and power were still patchy.

Trucks pumped muddy water from undergroun­d tunnels as business owners counted the cost of the torrent and meteorolog­ists issued ‘red’ rain alerts, warning of the threat of fresh landslides and flooding in surroundin­g areas.

Mass communicat­ion blackouts added to the challenges, with state TV reporting telecommun­ications equipment and cables were damaged in the floods.

“I am waiting for the power to be restored, but it may take several more days I think,” Chen, the owner of a local food and pork sandwich restaurant, told AFP.

“My losses? They are okay, compared to what happened in the tunnel there,” he said, gesturing towards the tunnel where floods trapped many cars on Tuesday – potentiall­y with motorists still inside.

The death toll looked set to rise as rescuers scoured through debris.

The state-run Global Times newspaper shared a video on its social media feed of rescuers pulling a three-month-old baby from a collapsed building in Zhengzhou.

The newspaper said the baby’s mother was still missing.

Questions turned to how China’s bulging cities could be better prepared for freak weather events like Tuesday’s storm, which experts say are happening with increased frequency and intensity due to climate change.

Anyang city, a short journey north of Zhengzhou, issued a red alert yesterday for heavy downpours after some areas received over 100 millimetre­s of rain, ordering schools to close and most workers to stay at home. Weather experts dissected the reasons behind Tuesday’s record downpours.

Chen Tao, chief forecaster of the National Meteorolog­ical Center (NMC), said a mix of Henan’s topography and Typhoon In-Fa favoured the rains.

Although the typhoon has not landed in China, under the influence of winds, ‘a large amount of water vapour from above the sea gathered towards Henan,’ providing a source of water for the downpours, Chen said.

The changing climate is also making these kinds of extreme weather events more common as the world continues to heat up, with catastroph­es seen across the world.

Henan province, like much of China, is striated by rivers, dams and reservoirs, many constructe­d decades ago to manage the flow of floodwater and irrigate the agricultur­al region.

But endless city sprawl is putting pressure on drainage.

State media rebuked suggestion­s that dams may have had a part to play in subverting the normal flow of water, with the Global Times citing experts as saying constructi­on had ‘no direct connection to flooding.’

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 ?? — AFP photos ?? A damaged bridge following heavy rains which caused severe flooding in Gongyi in China’s central Henan province.
— AFP photos A damaged bridge following heavy rains which caused severe flooding in Gongyi in China’s central Henan province.
 ??  ?? Members of rescue organisati­on Bluesky rescue team carry a girl across a flooded street following a heavy rain in Zhengzhou.
Members of rescue organisati­on Bluesky rescue team carry a girl across a flooded street following a heavy rain in Zhengzhou.
 ??  ?? People look at cars sitting in floodwater­s following heavy rains in Zhengzhou.
People look at cars sitting in floodwater­s following heavy rains in Zhengzhou.

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