Record rainfall in central China has caused severe flooding, forcing residents to flee their homes.
Stations and roads in the affected areas were also submerged following the torrential rains.
Local media informed that over 10,000 people living in Henan province had been evacuated to shelters.
Authorities reported at least 12 fatalities in the city of Zhengzhou since the floods began.
Besides, main roads had been forced to close, and flights had been canceled to avoid tragic accidents, affecting more than a dozen cities.
Henan province, home to about 94 million people, issued its highest level of weather advisory amid an unusually active rainy season.
Chinese officials also fear that a dam in the province would collapse after being hardly damaged by the latest storms.
In the dam in Luoyang city, a 20-meter (65-foot) gap has emerged following the latest rainfall, authorities said.
Soldiers have been deployed to the area as the military warns the public that it could “collapse at any time.”
Experts say that many factors can contribute to flooding. However, extreme rains become more likely due to the warm atmosphere caused by climate change.
Dramatic unverified video footage shared on social media platforms showed Zhengzhou subway carriages flooded with water reaching up to passengers’ shoulders.
Other videos showed rescuers using a rope to pull people to safety while the remaining passengers stood on the train seats to stay above the water level.
Hundreds of people were reported to have been rescued so far, but the number of passengers trapped in the flooded train is unknown.
A social media user who went by the name Xiaopei wrote a message on Weibo asking for help. It read: “The water in the carriage has reached my chest. I can’t speak anymore.”
Later, the fire department confirmed that rescuers had assisted Xiaopei, who could get off the train.
According to weather reports, the amount of rain that Zhengzhou recorded in the past three days is the same as it would regularly see in a year.
More downpours are forecasted in the region today.
