BEIJING — The death toll from
floods in central
China last month
is at least 302 with dozens of people still missing, officials said Monday,
after record downpours dumped a year's worth of rain on a city in just three
days.
اضافة اعلان
Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province and the epicenter of the record
flooding, was hardest hit with 292 people dead and 47 missing, the local
government said at a press briefing.
Residents were trapped in subway carriages, underground car parks, and
tunnels.
Images of passengers inundated by shoulder-height water went viral on
Chinese social media on Line 5 of the city subway where 14 people died, while
dozens of cars in a tunnel were tossed aside by the deluge, many with
passengers still inside.
Scores were killed in Zhengzhou due to floods and mudslides, mayor Hou Hong
told reporters while updating the overall toll. She added that 39 bodies were
recovered from underground car parks and other below-ground spaces.
The disaster marked China's deadliest floods in a decade.
On Monday the State Council — China's cabinet — announced an investigative
team would examine the handling of the flood and propose measures to improve
disaster prevention, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Heavy downpours that began July 17 have affected over 14 million people,
damaged thousands of homes, and caused economic losses in Zhengzhou estimated
at $8.2 billion.
The total losses across the province were almost double that amount.
Experts say freak weather events — heavy floods and punishing droughts — are
increasingly common due to climate change.
Questions are turning to how China's bulging cities can better prepare for
extreme weather.
As the water retreated, slaking roads in mud, residents counted the
financial cost in lost businesses and property — and attempted to mark the
human tragedy which took place there.
Angry response
City and provincial officials have faced calls for accountability, with the
wife of one of the subway victims telling local media she would sue the metro
operator for negligence.
News of the death toll enraged China's social media users who demanded
better disaster management protocols and criticized the government's response.
"Can we do a good check of Zhengzhou's drainage system?" a
resident wrote on Weibo.
"We're digging and building roads every day ... change the leadership
and do it all over again, all the money has been spent on superficial
things!"
But criticism of the government's handling of the disaster was met with a
stern response.
A large floral tribute at the Zhengzhou subway was sealed off last week by
authorities and foreign journalists covering the floods have been harassed
online and on the ground.
Reporters from AFP were forced to delete footage by hostile residents and
surrounded by dozens of men while reporting on a submerged traffic tunnel.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian last week singled out the BBC
for criticism, labelling it a "Fake News Broadcasting Company" that
has "attacked and smeared China, seriously deviating from journalistic
standards."
Officials and state media have long accused Western media organizations of
anti-China bias.
The United States has since said it was "deeply concerned" over
the harassment and intimidation of foreign correspondents covering deadly
floods in China.
For now, air, rail, and road transport in Henan have resumed although the
Zhengzhou subway has not, according to a Henan official.
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