Death toll in worst floods in China's Henan province rises to 302

Beijing: The death toll from last month’s unprecedented flash floods triggered by the heaviest rainfall in a thousand years in central China’s Henan province has climbed to 302, three times higher than the previous official figures.

In the provincial capital Zhengzhou, which was the worst-hit, a total of 292 people were confirmed dead and 47 still missing, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Monday, quoting local officials.

The previous death toll, announced by provincial authorities on Friday, was 99.

The torrential rain on July 20 has affected millions of people in the sprawling Henan province, leading to the evacuation of lakhs of local residents to safer places.

Zhengzhou, a metropolis of 12.6 million people, also bore the brunt as floodwaters inundated metro trains and tunnels leading to the deaths of a large number of people.

Several hospitals were also flooded and officials made desperate efforts to shift patients to safety.

The Chinese Army sent its troops to a damaged dike in Yichuan county to explode it to divert the floodwater.

In the aftermath of the worst flood in the region, the local government came under severe criticism for not being transparent about the loss of life and damage caused by the deluge.

The massive floods, described by meteorologists as a once-in-a-lifetime event, has resulted in apocalyptic scenes in Zhengzhou, with its public avenues and subway tunnels getting submerged in surging waters.

Videos on social media showed people stuck in cars being washed away by rampaging waters in the main streets of the city.

In the videos, petrified passengers trapped in subway trains were seen clinging on to the rails, desperately waiting for help as floodwaters raised up to their necks.

People were seen trying to wade through floods in the downtown area of the city, while scores of cars and other vehicles washed away. Some videos also showed people falling into the massive cave-ins of the roads.

The downtown area of Zhengzhou received average precipitation of 457.5 mm within 24 hours, the highest daily rainfall since the weather record began, Xinhua reported.

Henan is home to many cultural sites and a major base for industry and agriculture. According to several media reports, Shaolin Temple, known for its Buddhist monks’ mastery of martial arts, was also severely hit by the floods.

Weather forecasters described the extreme event as the heaviest rainfall in 1,000 years.