Out of the Flood

By Yuan Yuan

Before the torrential rain hit the city， Zhengzhou， capital of Henan Province in central China， has seldom been associated with flooding.

But unprecedented heavy rain poured on July 20， and within an hour from 4 to 5 p.m. the city saw 201.9 mm of precipitation， the highest hourly amount ever recorded in China.

The downpours wreaked havoc in the city. Many parts of the city were inundated in the flood and cars were seen floating down streets， carried away by the torrents. Water poured into the subway line， stranding subway cars and passengers. Water supplies and power in many parts of the city， including some major hospitals， were cut off. Phone signals were affected. Over 100 trains were delayed or canceled and several roads and highways were blocked.

The rain continued to lash the city in the following few days and spread to many other places in the province and further to its neighboring Hebei Province. In rural areas， dams burst and rivers broke their banks. As a leading producer of summer grain， over 1 million hectares of crops in Henan were affected by the floods.

Rushing aid

Chen Tao， chief forecaster of the National Meteorological Center， commented on the possible causes of the record rainfall at a press conference on July 21. Typhoon In-fa， which was still over the Pacific Ocean at that time， pushed water vapor into Henan from the sea， and then a low pressure system lifted the moisture into the air where it quickly cooled and condensed. The high pressure systems and the regions special terrain， surrounded by mountains， also contributed to the heavy rain in Henan.

The central authorities immediately deployed rescue forces from seven neighboring provinces， multiple ministries， the People Liberation Army（PLA） and armed police， who soon arrived in the disaster-affected areas and immediately started to carry out rescue and disaster relief work.

The PLA deployed on July 21 more than 5，700 troops and militiamen in Henan to take part in disaster-relief efforts， including clearing river courses， reinforcing dikes， building makeshift flood banks， and relocating affected residents.

The PLA Central Theater Command set up a front disaster-relief headquarters and activated an emergency response plan. Military satellites and aircraft monitored situations in the flood-hit areas.

The Ministry of Finance on July 21 earmarked 100 million yuan （$15.42 million） of disaster relief funds for Henan.