- The heavy downpour that began on July 17 affected nearly 13 million people.
- In the process, nearly 9,000 houses were destroyed.
- The provincial capital of Henan Province was the hardest hit, with 292 deaths.
Officials said on Monday that last month’s floods in central China killed at least 302 people and dozens of others are still missing. The previous record downpour brought a year’s rainfall to a city in just three days.
According to a press conference of the provincial government, Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, and the record-breaking flood center were the worst hit, with 292 people dead and 47 missing. Residents were trapped in subways, underground parking lots and tunnels.
Photos of passengers flooded by shoulder-high water went viral on Chinese social media on the Metro Line 5 of the city, killing 14 people. Dozens of cars in the tunnel were thrown aside by the flood, and many passengers were still in the cars. .
“39 people were found dead in the underground parking lot,” Zhengzhou Mayor Hou Hong told reporters while updating the toll, adding that 6 people died in the car tunnel.
Video: Typhoon In-Fa hit eastern China with strong winds and heavy rain, while other parts of China are still clearing after historical flooding.In Ningbo, pedestrians walk in knee-high water, while first responders use sandbags to protect the city from further flooding pic.twitter.com/q2lX2GW2VC
-AFP (@AFP) July 26, 2021
The United States condemns the harassment of foreign journalists reporting on China’s deadly floods.
“The United States is deeply concerned about the increasingly severe surveillance, harassment, and intimidation of American and other foreign journalists.” https://t.co/hh30PTFo3J pic.twitter.com/F3B40EA8Lk
-AFP (@AFP) July 30, 2021
The heavy downpour that began on July 17 affected nearly 13 million people, damaged nearly 9,000 houses, and caused approximately 53 billion yuan (US$8.2 billion) in economic losses in Henan.
Last week, the authorities blocked large-scale flower offerings on the subway, which shows that the government is becoming more and more sensitive to public criticism of its handling of the disaster.
Foreign journalists reporting on the floods were harassed online and in the field as part of an increasingly severe crackdown on any negative portrayal of China.
Read here | Typhoon “Renfa” swept east China
When reporting on a flooded traffic tunnel in Zhengzhou, an Agence France-Presse reporter was surrounded by hostile residents and dozens of men and was forced to delete the footage.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian named the BBC last week, calling it a “fake news broadcasting company” that “attacked and discredited China and seriously deviated from news standards.”
