Due to flooding caused by heavy rains, several people were killed in Henan Province and thousands were evacuated.

The Chinese army warned that a disaster-stricken dam in the central part of the country was severely damaged during heavy rains, causing at least three deaths and bringing the area to a standstill, which “may collapse at any time.”

The meteorological department issued the highest level of warning to central Henan Province due to extensive damage caused by the downpour and the evacuation of residents in flooded streets.

On Tuesday night, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army regional troops warned that the relentless downpour had caused a 20-meter (66-foot) dam breach on the Yihetan Dam in Luoyang — a city of about 7 million people — that was possible.” It may collapse at any time”.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Central Theater Command stated that it had sent soldiers to conduct emergency response such as blasting and flood distribution.

“On July 20, a 20-meter breach occurred in the Yihe Beach Dam… The river bank was severely damaged and the dam may collapse at any time,” it said in a statement.

According to the official Xinhua News Agency, more than 10,000 residents of Henan Province have been transferred to shelters.

With the Shaolin Temple and many other cultural sites, the province is one of the most populous areas in China and a major base for industry and agriculture.

During the rainy season in China, flooding is common, causing chaos every year and washing away roads, crops and houses.

But over the decades, this threat has become more and more serious, partly because of the extensive construction of dams and levees.

“I have never seen such a heavy rain”

According to the official media “People’s Daily”, in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, since heavy rains began to hit the city, at least one person has died and two others are missing.

Local media reported that a wall in another district of the city collapsed, killing two people.

Some people spend the night at the workplace or stay in a hotel.

Wang Guirong, a 56-year-old restaurant manager, said that after being told that there was no electricity nearby, she planned to sleep on the sofa in the restaurant.

“I have lived in Zhengzhou all my life, and I have never seen such a heavy rain today,” Wang said.

State Grid Zhengzhou Power Supply Company said that due to rain, a substation in the city center was forced to close.

According to the Meteorological Department, the rainfall is the highest since records were recorded 60 years ago, as the city experienced annual average rainfall in only three days.

The authorities shut down the flooded Zhengzhou subway system and cancelled hundreds of flights.

Unconfirmed videos on social media showed passengers in a flooded underground train car in Zhengzhou clutching the handles tightly. The water in the car soared to shoulder height and some people were standing on their seats.

The fire department shared a report on the rescue of passengers from the stranded train on its official Weibo, but did not make a statement of its own.

According to a passenger’s account, fire and rescue personnel opened a hole in the top of her carriage to evacuate the passengers one by one.

The video showed a man sitting on the roof of a partially submerged car in an underground passage.