China / People stuck on flooded metro trains in China as water reaches their shoulders

Beijing: Torrential rain pounded the central Chinese province of Henan, bursting the banks of major rivers and flooding the streets of a dozen cities including Zhengzhou. The sudden flooding inundated and trapped people in shopping malls, schools and even underground subway trains, leaving locals in a perilous situation. Scary videos have now taken over social media, showing how people were caught in dangerous situations due to the downpour.

Record rainstorm caused severe waterlogging, traffic disruptions, power outages and civilian casualties. Authorities upgraded the flooding emergency response level to its highest on Tuesday afternoon. The massive floods have left 12 dead and more than 100,000 people evacuated from their homes.

Dramatic video shared on social media showed commuters in more than waist-deep murky floodwaters on a subway train. Many were trapped in the underground stations with water gushing in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou. More than 160 trains also stopped service in the city’s railway station, stranding a large number of passengers, according to Xinhua.

“The water level rose to our shoulders,” a witness told CGTN. “Its impact was so vast that it washed things away easily. Several of us hung in there, including a child.” Adding that it was scary and exhaustive to hold onto the railing amid rising water, the witness said: “If you didn’t hold tight to the railing, you would be washed away easily.”

Footage showed first responders jumping into action to help those trapped in the train coaches, bringing them back to safety. They were seen using ropes to guide passengers out one by one, while others stood on the seats to try to keep above the water.

The Henan Provincial People’s Armed Police Force have dispatched more than 150 rescuers to the hardest-hit areas. They are carrying more than 5,800 pieces of rescue equipment, including inflatable boats.

Videos showed people being swept away by the current as they struggle through rushing water. Vigilant passersby averted some major accidents.

Footage showed scores of cars floating in the water, while residents were seen wading through almost neck-deep water in some places.

Many students and teachers were trapped in a school building amid rising floodwater. Videos showed authorities using plastic box to evacuate small children, while boats were brought in to help the adults.

The amount of rainfall in Zhengzhou witnessed over the three days was one seen only “once in a thousand years”, local media cited meteorologists as saying.

Local authorities said the rainfall had caused a 20-metre breach in the Yihetan dam in Luoyang city west of Zhengzhou, and that the dam “could collapse at any time”, Reuters reported. In Zhengzhou, the local flood control headquarters said the city’s Guojiazui reservoir had been breached but there was no dam failure yet.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday demanded that authorities at all levels must give top priority to ensuring people’s safety and property, and carefully and strictly implement the flood prevention and disaster relief measures, Chinese broadcasters reported.