BEIJING – The death toll from floods in central China last month is at least 302 with dozens of people still missing, officials said Monday, after record downpours dumped a year’s worth of rain on a city in just three days.
Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province and the epicentre of the record flooding, was hardest hit with 292 people dead and 47 missing, the local government said at a press briefing.
Residents were trapped in subway carriages, underground car parks, and tunnels according to AFP.
Images of passengers inundated by shoulder-height water went viral on Chinese social media on Line 5 of the city subway where 14 people died, while dozens of cars in a tunnel were tossed aside by the deluge, many with passengers still inside.
Scores were killed in Zhengzhou due to floods and mudslides, mayor Hou Hong told reporters while updating the overall toll.
She added that 39 bodies were recovered from underground car parks and other below-ground spaces.
The disaster marked China’s deadliest floods in a decade.
Heavy downpours that began July 17 have affected over 14 million people, damaged thousands of homes, and caused economic losses in Zhengzhou estimated at 53 billion yuan ($8.2 billion).
The total losses across the province were almost double that amount.
Experts say freak weather events — heavy floods and punishing droughts — are increasingly common due to climate change.
Questions are turning to how China’s bulging cities can better prepare for extreme weather.
As the water retreated, slaking roads in mud, residents counted the financial cost in lost businesses and property — and attempted to mark the human tragedy which took place there.
