The rainfall of the last days in the province of Henan, in the center of China, have already caused 33 dead and 8 missing, as well as the evacuation of 376,000 residents, according to the calculations of the provincial authorities.
Several cities in Henan and also Hebei, in the north, suffered this Thursday, July 22, 2021, intense rains that reached up to 350 millimeters per square meter.
On Xinxiang, to the north of Zhengzhou (capital of Henan), some weather stations recorded rainfall of up to 812 millimeters per square meter and 470,000 have already been accounted for victims out of a total population of 5.8 millions.
Some affected resorted to the social network Weibo to show the havoc caused by water and make an appeal to the Government: “in the district of Fengquan we have been flooded for a day and a night, houses they have stayed uninhabitable, the people has taken refuge in the rooftops and we fear that food and water will be scarce, we ask for the government’s attention and assistance! ”, a user located in Xinxiang posted on the social network.
The heavy rains have lasted for two days
The rains in recent days have tested the ability of cities to deal with them. This Wednesday it was the turn of the city of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, which suffered rainfall of up to 201.9 liters of water per square meter, causing severe flooding.
These heavy rains could be due to tifón In-Fa which, despite originating in southern China, produced a large amount of water vapor that ended up affecting the Zhengzhou area, according to meteorological authorities quoted by local media.
Response of the Chinese authorities and society
The authorities mobilized more than 39,000 rescue team members and Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered the intervention of the Chinese army -which sent more than 5,000 soldiers and members of the armed police and emergency personnel – to assist a population that has lived through desperate moments, several of them captured on video and circulating on Chinese social networks.
The images of passengers in the subway in wagons with more than a meter and a half of water, of passers-by being dragged by strong currents and of people trapped in their vehicles have caused numerous samples of solidarity with Henan province, the third most populous in China.
Companies, both state and private, have launched donations in support of the victims.
–
