China flooding: Death toll rises in Henan as passengers recount horror of Zhengzhou subway floods

‘On the brink of breakdown’

One of the most horrifying scenes from the disaster occurred underground on Line 5 of the Zhengzhou subway.

During the evening rush hour on Tuesday, hundreds of commuters were trapped in rising water as murky torrents gushed into the tunnel and seeped into carriages. Some posted videos and pleaded for help online. Dramatic videos showing people clinging to ceiling handles to keep their heads above the rising waters shocked the nation and made headlines around the world. In another video, several bodies could be seen lying lifelessly on the platform, as rescuers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on others.

Authorities said more than 500 passengers were evacuated from the inundated subway line, with 12 killed and five others injured.

On social media and in interviews with Chinese media, some survivors shared harrowing accounts of how the disaster unfolded on the subway.

By the time all of them had returned to the subways cars, the water was already at their waists. It kept rising as more water filled the tunnel and seeped through gaps between the subway car doors.

“We tried to stand on the seats as much as we could, but even then, the water reached our chests in the end,” she wrote. “I was really scared, but the most terrifying thing was not the water, but the diminishing air in the carriage — as many seemed to have trouble breathing.”

She heard another woman giving her family her bank account details on the phone, and wondered if she should do the same. She sent a message to her mother, telling her she “might not make it.” When her mother called back, she was suddenly at a loss for words. She told her she was still waiting for rescue and hung up, and spent the next two and a half hours “on the brink of breakdown.”

Eventually, she fainted due to lack of oxygen, but was later awaken by the vibration of her phone. It was a call from her mother telling her rescue was on the way. At that moment, she heard footsteps on top of the train, and firefighters started to smash open the windows to let in fresh air. She heard more rescuers arriving, and one after another, they were let out — those who fainted were sent out first, followed by women, she wrote. Her post was later deleted. It was not clear why, or by whom — and CNN has been unable to verify her account.

Some tried to call emergency lines and asked family and friends to get help, but to no avail. By 9 p.m., water inside the train had reached their throats, she said. There were children, pregnant women and the elderly in the crowds, and some people around her started shaking, retching and gasping for air.

“I was really terrified at that time. When I saw the water rising above our heads outside the window, I was preparing myself to accept that I would never be able to get out,” she said.

With only 30% of battery left on her phone, she closed all the other apps on her device and sent messages to her relatives and friends on Wechat, but she didn’t dare to tell her parents, she said. Before 9 p.m., she kept asking them to contact rescuers. But afterward, she was mainly making arrangements for people to take care of things after she died.

‘Once in a thousand years’?

More heavy rains were forecast for Thursday, before they were expected to subside on Friday, according to an official at the provincial meteorological station.

Though flooding during the summer months is an annual occurrence in parts of China, recent record-breaking rains have alarmed scientists and officials, raising questions as to whether the country is prepared to deal with more extreme and unpredictable weather amplified by climate change.

“Areas undergoing rapid urbanization are experiencing a steep rise in risk,” said Liu Junyan, climate and energy project leader for Greenpeace in Beijing, in a recent press statement accompanying the release of a report mapping the growing risk from extreme weather in China’s major cities.

“Building resilient communities means first identifying at-risk groups, whether that’s based on location, income, welfare, housing, employment, medical history, or other factors,” added Liu.

Henan authorities said the intensity of the downpour was unprecedented, with more than 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) of rain dumping onto Zhengzhou in one hour on Tuesday afternoon — accounting for one third of the city’s annual rainfall recorded last year.