Floods across China leave 33 dead and thousands displaced with no end in sight

Unprecedented downpour dumped a year's rain in just three days, bringing life to a halt in the city of Zhengzhou

Piles of cars were strewn across a central Chinese city Thursday as shocked residents picked through the debris of a historic deluge that claimed at least 33 lives, with more rain forecast.

An unprecedented downpour dumped a year's rain in just three days on the city of Zhengzhou, weather officials said, instantly overwhelming drains and sending torrents of muddy, swirling water through streets, road tunnels and the subway system.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the surrounding area have been affected by the flood, authorities said, as farmland was inundated and road and rail links severed.

In worst-hit Zhengzhou, grim images of the horror inside the subway system were posted to social media, showing water rising during Tuesday's rush hour from passengers' ankles to their necks.

Paramilitary police officers reinforce a lake wall after heavy rain caused severe flooding near Zhengzhou, in China's central Henan province, in which more than 30 people are thought to have been killed with the death toll expected to rise.

Many workers are involved in the operation.

It is a laborious and co-ordinated effort to keep the floodwater at bay.

Rainfall in the area has intensified since Tuesday, with Zhengzhou, a city of 10 million, receiving a year’s worth of rain in only three days.

A man holding a baby wades through a flooded road in Zhengzhou.

Members of the Blue Sky rescue team carry a girl to safety.

A man sits on his stranded car as the floodwater rises.

People with a makeshift raft look for others to rescue in Zhengzhou, where the floodwater is chest-high in some areas.

Walking hand-in-hand in search of refuge from the flood.

People are packed on to a boat to escape..

Weather authorities are fearful of more torrential rain in the area.

The death toll includes at least 12 people who were killed when water flooded underground train carriages in Zhengzhou.

Cars were left in a heap after being swept away.

Heavy rain was expected on Thursday in parts of Henan as well as neighbouring Hebei province..

Paramilitary police officers clear debris from a street in Gongyi, Henan province.

Across Henan, as many as 380,000 have been forced to leave their homes..

Rescue workers and authorities continued to work to prevent dam breaches, restore lost power and pump out submerged petrol stations.

President Xi Jinping is urging officials to step up disaster relief measures.

At least a dozen people died before rescuers were able to cut survivors free from carriages.

As the water retreated – with piles of cars a monument to its deadly power – residents prepared for another day of bad weather, moving vehicles to higher ground and trying to plot journeys out from the stricken city where communication and power were still patchy.

Lorries pumped muddy water from underground tunnels as business owners counted the cost of the torrent and meteorologists issued “red” rain alerts, warning of the threat of fresh landslides and flooding in the surrounding areas.

“I am waiting for the power to be restored, but it may take several more days I think,” Chen, the owner of a local food and pork sandwich restaurant, told AFP.

“My losses? They are OK, compared to what happened in the tunnel there,” he said gesturing to where floods trapped many cars on Tuesday – potentially with motorists still inside.

Questions turned to how China's bulging cities could be better prepared for freak weather events like Tuesday's storm, which experts say are happening with increased frequency and intensity due to climate change.

Anyang city, a short journey north of Zhengzhou, issued a red alert on Thursday for heavy downpours after some areas received more than 100 millimetres of rain, ordering schools to close and most workers to stay at home.

Weather experts dissected the reasons behind Tuesday's record rains saying it was the heaviest rains for 1,000 years.

Chen Tao, chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Centre (NMC), said a mix of Henan's topography and Typhoon In-Fa favoured the rains.

Although the typhoon has not landed in China, under the influence of winds, “a large amount of water vapour from above the sea gathered towards Henan”, providing a source of water for the downpours, Chen said.

The changing climate is also making these kinds of extreme weather events more common as the world continues to heat up, with catastrophes seen across the world.

Henan province, like much of China, is striated by rivers, dams and reservoirs, many constructed decades ago to manage the flow of floodwater and irrigate the agricultural region.

But endless city sprawl is putting pressure on drainage.

State media rebuked suggestions dams may have had a part to play in subverting the normal flow of water, with the Global Times citing experts as saying “construction had no direct connection to flooding".

Cities across the country also faced massive economic damage. The official Xinhua news agency reported direct economic losses of 1.22 billion yuan ($189 million) so far.

The severe weather has brought factories to a standstill and destroyed crops, which will probably raise food prices.

Henan province is the country’s second-largest food producer and accounts for about a quarter of the wheat harvest. Although China has already harvested its main wheat crop, earlier rains affected quality from areas including Henan.

That is expected to drive up wheat imports by as much as 40 per cent this year to the highest level since the mid-1990s, according to Bric Agriculture Group, a Beijing-based consulting firm.

Pedestrians wade through flooding after heavy rain in Zhengzhou, the capital of China's central Henan province. Rainwater inundated the city's subway system and forced thousands of residents from their homes.

Traffic struggles through flooding in Zhengzhou, the capital of China's central Henan province. The banks of rivers are reported to have burst, leaving people in waist-high water.

Vehicles are stranded after heavy rain in Zhengzhou, the capital city of China's central Henan province. Weather bureaus said 200mm of rain fell on Zhengzhou in an hour on Tuesday.

A Zhengzhou resident, prepared for the worst with a rain cape, on a flooded road.

A woman sitting on a fence in a flooded street following heavy rains in Zhengzhou.

Vehicles pass through floodwater in Zhengzhou.

A man wades past a submerged car following heavy rains in Zhengzhou in central China's Henan province.

People wade through floodwater in Zhengzhou.

People make their way along a flooded street in Zhengzhou.

Residents of Zhengzhou in central China's Henan province, push a van along a flooded street.

A man wades along a street in Zhengzhou, central China.

People struggle through flooded streets following heavy rains in Zhengzhou in China's central Henan province.

An aerial view shows cars sitting in floodwaters at the entrance of a tunnel after heavy rains hit the city of Zhengzhou in China's central Henan province.

Cars sit in floodwaters following heavy rains, in Zhengzhou in China's central Henan province.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, residents move their belongings across a flooded street in Zhengzhou in central China's Henan province.

A man holding a baby wades through a flooded road following heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China.

Rescue workers evacuate residents from a flooded residential compound following heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China

People queue to receive relief goods following a heavy rain in Zhengzhou, in China's Henan province.

People ride a front loader as they make their way through a flooded road following heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China.

People wade through a flooded street following a heavy rain in Zhengzhou, in China's Henan province.

People wade through a flooded street following a heavy rain in Zhengzhou, in China's Henan province.

People riding boats and front loader make their way through a flooded road following heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China.

An aerial view shows rescue workers evacuating residents on a flooded road following heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China.

This aerial photo taken show a damaged bridge following heavy rains which caused severe flooding in Gongyi in China's central Henan province.

A truck travels on a flooded road after heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China.