The subway train in Zhengzhou, a city of five million in central China, was approaching its next station when the floodwaters began to rise ominously on the tracks. The passengers crowded forward as the water rose, submerging the cars at the rear first because they were deeper in the tunnel.
At least 25 people were killed and another seven were missing as torrential rain lashed China’s central province of Henan, causing landslides and flooding that partially submerged the underground rail system of Zhengzhou.
About 200,000 residents were evacuated as of Wednesday as soldiers led rescue efforts in Zhengzhou – a city of more than 10 million people – where days of rain have inundated the streets and subway, local government officials said.
With the rain still falling, nearly 10,000 people were trapped aboard passenger trains in Henan, unable to move because water covered the tracks, the newsmagazine Caixin reported. At least one carrying 735 people came to a stop near Zhengzhou and, after more than 40 hours, had run out of food and water. By the afternoon, some passengers were able to leave, while railway workers brought supplies to those still waiting aboard for service to resume.
But the country's vast water management schemes are unable to
Contain all the flooding while there are questions about endurance of dam built decades ago.
Floods in China: 25 dead in Zhengzhou metro, landslides
President Xi Jinping says situation “extremely severe”
