2021 Henan floods

On 16 July 2021, Zhengzhou began to experience heavy rain. On 20 July alone, the average precipitation on that day had reached 253 mm (9.96 in). From 16:00 to 17:00 on 20 July, the rainfall in one hour reached 201.9 mm (7.95 in); and from 20:00 on 17 July to 20:00 on 20 July, the rainfall reached 617.1 mm (24.30 in) over the course of three days,[25] close to the annual average yearly precipitation.[26] Videos emerged showing subway passengers waist-deep in water inside their carriage and cars floating in streets.[27] The torrential rain was so strong that many cars on a road near the Danshi Subdistrict in Nanlong Lake were washed up by the rain.[28] The Jingguang North Road Tunnel was flooded, with over 200 cars stuck inside.[29] The Zhengzhou Meteorological Observatory issued a red warning signal for rainstorms, and the Zhengzhou Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters upgraded the emergency response of flood control level II to level I.[30] The hourly precipitation and single-day precipitation in Zhengzhou have broken the historical record of 60 years since the station was established in 1951.[31] The Zhengzhou flooding has raised concerns over whether the storm drain system offered sufficient drainage[32]

The flooding in Zhengzhou left 398 people dead or missing.[33] According to later insurance reports, over 400,000 cars in Zhengzhou were damaged by the floods, resulting in over RMB 6.4 billion in insurance claims.[34]

The prefecture-level city of Xinxiang reportedly received the highest amount of precipitation, amounting to over 260 mm (10 in) of rainfall in a 24-hour period.[35] Xinzhong Avenue, one of the main roads in Xinxiang, was flooded on July 24 and the road between Xinxiang and Weihui was also impassable. The worst hit area was Muye District, a partially rural district along the Wei River. Up to four days after the torrential rains, some rural areas remained cut off from the outside world due to persistent flooding of access roads. By July 26, the floods reached Weihui, where over 1,000 had to be evacuated from a hospital at risk of flooding.[36] A total of 204,000 people have been relocated after severe flooding in Weihui.[37]

In contrast to historical rains where residents of Xinxiang feared flooding of the Yellow River, south of the city, during these rains, the Communism Canal and Wei River on the west were the main cause of flooding.[36]

On the evening of 19 July, Kaifeng was affected by heavy rainfall. By the morning of 20 July, the heavy rain escalated to torrential rain. Kaifeng issued a red rainstorm warning accordingly, which was changed to an orange rainstorm warning on the afternoon of 20 July.[38][39]

Heavy flooding was reported in Henan province, and the Ying River, the largest river in the province, overflowed causing flooding in the area. In the city of Dengfeng, which also experienced flooding, an aluminum alloy factory owned by Dengfeng Power Group suffered an explosion, but no human casualties were reported.[40][41] The military was sent to safeguard Yihetan Dam.[42] In Hebi, the Wei River flooded several villages.[35]

Mourning for the victims in the flood at Shakoulu Station, Line 5

302 people died in the floods and 50 were declared missing.[1][2] 14 were confirmed dead from the flooding of metro Line 5 in Zhengzhou on 20 July.[43] Six bodies were recovered from the flooded Jingguang North Tunnel.[44]

In Gongyi, a county-level city under Zhengzhou's administration, four people died, as floodwater forced more than 20,000 people to abandon their homes.[45]