DThe brown water flowed to the shoulders of the passengers. Many people clung to the rails on the subway. “I’m calling the police to my aunt,” said a man with a desperate voice in the many videos that shocked the Chinese public on Tuesday night. In Zhengzhou, a city in central China, about 500 passengers were trapped on line 5 trucks at this time. They encountered a tsunami after three consecutive days of heavy rain in the capital of Henan Province and the same heavy rain throughout the year. Chinese meteorologists talked about the millennium flood.
Passengers must wait four hours in the rising water before they are finally released. For some people, help came too late. As the authorities announced on Wednesday, at least 25 people were killed. Fear of more victims. In Henan Province to which Zhengzhou belongs, more than one million people were affected. A picture of a subway station circulated on the Chinese Internet, with four people lying on the floor, among the rescued people. Someone covered their face with clothes.
Xi Jinping expresses himself unusually and quickly
Head of state and party leader Xi Jinping Panicked on Wednesday. According to official media reports, he said the situation was “very serious.” Dams and reservoirs were destroyed. The most important thing now is to protect the safety and property of citizens. He called on local authorities to “strictly” comply with the flood and emergency assistance regulations. Xi Jinping ordered soldiers to assist in rescue and clean-up work. He also instructed authorities at all levels to take preventive measures, including the prevention of epidemics in flooded areas. He said that the flood victims must also be prevented from falling into poverty. In China, it is unusual for the heads of state and party leaders to talk about disaster situations so quickly and comprehensively.
At the same time, witnesses recounted the terrible time they spent on the subway. A man from the party newspaper “Freezing Point Weekend” said that after three hours of being trapped in the subway, the oxygen had been exhausted. “Many people around me took a breath, and some people vomited. There were also children, pregnant women, and the elderly.” The passengers smashed the windows to at least let air into the compartment. The Southern Weekly News interviewed a man who was eager to help his trapped wife. “There are not enough rescuers,” he said. He walked out of the danger zone with a person on his back, only to find out later that she was dead.
There are also dramatic scenes elsewhere in Zhengzhou. The streets are turning into rivers, carrying cars and people. In one of the suburbs, more than 600 mm of precipitation was measured in three days, more than at any time since the start of the measurement. Many houses there are threatened with collapse. There is no electricity and no drinking water. Many trapped residents posted help calls on the Internet, coordinated by volunteers. By noon, posts with the hashtag #河南-暴-self-help will be viewed 2.8 billion times. Many provide private accommodation or driving services.
There are also calls for help from the hospital. Lack of food, usually provided by relatives in Chinese hospitals. There are reports that since Tuesday, children have been locked in kindergartens waiting for help. According to official sources, rescuers have brought more than 100,000 residents to rescue shelters. The rain is still going on, and according to the weather forecast, only Thursday will be relieved. Zhengzhou, a city with a population of 12 million, is not far from the Yellow River. Many other cities in the region are also affected.
