Chinese floods have killed at least 12 people in Zhengzhou industrial areas

The floods have killed at least a dozen people in Zhengzhou, a central Chinese city that is home to the world’s largest iPhone plant, when heavy rains threatened to erupt in nearby dams.

The storm was described by local weather authorities as “once in a thousand years” the largest event ever recorded since 1951, drowning in roads and carrying underground motorists.

From Saturday evening to Tuesday, 671.1mm of rain fell on Zhengzhou, surpassing the average rainfall of 604.8mm. Tuesday afternoon, 201.9mm fell one hour.

Zhengzhou, the capital of the province of Henan, is a major player in the industry. Its iPhone Assembly plant is operated by Apple company from Taiwan Hon Hai Precision Industry, called Foxconn. The company said “nothing will affect our site so far”, adding that it is monitoring the situation closely and has put in place a plan to deal with emergencies.

Roads were closed Tuesday evening on the opposite side of a waterproof wall. Videos shared on TV show a crowded subway car parked in high water waiting for rescue.

Twelve people have been killed and five others injured in an underground tunnel, according to a preliminary report released by Chinese media on Wednesday.

Several dams outside the city were at risk of exploding, forcing government officials to end the pressure on water supply.

Zhengzhou came to a standstill as planes and trains were removed and power outages hit major parts of the city.

The family and patients at a hospital affiliated with Zhengzhou University, one of the city’s largest, sent a cry for help in the event of a flood, cutting off electricity.

Xi Jinping, President of China, called the issue “extremely difficult” and instructed officials to “take the lead” to protect lives and property.

Fear and anger on the internet are mainly directed at Zhengzhou weather forecasters for failing to adequately warn citizens, as well as government media outlets who have reported flooding.

One well-publicized article reported on how local journalists had previously reported that people in subway cars were safe.

“Even if it were only once in the millennium rains that caused the Zhengzhou flood, it would probably not be a natural disaster,” the source said. “When the blood came out. . . he brought a deluge, a terrible man-made disaster.

Media users have also sent a recent video from CCTV, a state broadcaster, in which a reader praised China’s use of “scientific methods” to establish a “complete and systematic” solution to heavy rainfall, in what appears to be a recent drought. flooding in Germany.

Zhengzhou lives in a small, flooded area in northern China on the southern bank of the Yellow River. The city has sold billions of renminbi to build defenses in case the river falls.

In 2018, the city government said it would use Rmb53bn by 2020 to turn Zhengzhou’s fifth city into a “sponge” city, capable of absorbing heavy rainwater and continuous water and construction equipment.

Additional comments by Emma Zhou, Sherry Ju and Sun Yu in Beijing