Guwahati News Desk: Due to the ongoing devastating floods, the official number of death toll from central China, has risen to a total of 33, and the public are seen questioning the readiness of authorities for the disaster.
The capital city Zhengzhou recorded 617.1 mm rainfall from Saturday to Tuesday, which was nearly the same as the annual average rainfall in the city (640.8 mm). Infact, China’s central Henan province witnessed its heaviest rainfall in a 1,000 years.
As per the recent reports, cleanup efforts were undergoing in Henan province and in the capital city Zhengzhou, on Thursday, after a record breaking rain storm flooded the city’s streets and subway, damaged dams and reservoirs, collapsed roads, cut power to at least one hospital and was linked to a massive explosion at a factory in Dengfeng city.
The reports further stated that, 13 construction workers were killed, in Guangdong, in southern China, after being trapped in a flooded tunnel. Thousands of rescuers were sent in to assist northern Henan, where dozens of counties were hit by flooding on Wednesday night and Thursday.
The authorities have informed, that 200,000 people were displaced by the floods and more than three million people have been affected, in the recent week.
Meanwhile, the Henan disaster has prompted public scrutiny over the preparedness of authorities, in particular the apparently inaccurate weather forecasts and the decision to keep the subway operating throughout the deluge.
The meteorological bodies have referred to the rainstorm, that saw a year’s worth of rainfall in three days, as a one in a 1,000-year weather event. Infact, the rainfall broke the hourly and daily records of the 70 years of collected data.
Photo | CNN
