2021 Henan floods
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China's
Henan Province Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
experienced flooding between 17 and 31 July 2021 as a result of heavy rainfall. On July 20, Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, recorded of rainfall within an hour, the highest ever figure recorded since measurements began in 1951. On 2 August 2021, provincial authorities reported 302 deaths (292 in Zhengzhou), and over 50 missing people. Later, investigations revealed that provincial officials had deliberately underreported the deaths, bring the new death toll to 398. The floods caused the evacuation of 815,000 people, and affected 14.5 million people around the province. The intensity of the floods was believed to have been amplified by
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caused by
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.


Meteorological synopsis

Several factors were attributed to the unusual and severe floods in Henan. The subtropical high (system of high atmospheric pressure) in the western Pacific as well as the continental
high-pressure area A high-pressure area, high, or anticyclone, is an area near the surface of a planet where the atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure in the surrounding regions. Highs are middle-scale meteorological features that result from interpl ...
in the
Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...
and inland
Northwest China Northwest China () is a statistical region of China which includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. It has an area of 3,107,900 km2. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid con ...
contributed to the continuous rainfall in the province. In addition, weak upper-level winds, normal for the summer in the region, made it so the storm barely moved locations. Mesoscale convections were reported to be frequently moving over Zhengzhou, which cause intense thunderstorms. According to the
China Meteorological Administration The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) is the national weather service of the People's Republic of China. The institution is located in Beijing. History The agency was originally established in December 1949 as the Central Military Comm ...
, the two main reasons for the storm were
Typhoon In-fa Typhoon In-fa, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Fabian, was a very large and costly tropical cyclone that brought record amounts of rainfall to China in July 2021, becoming the second-wettest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the country. I ...
, which occurred from Henan, and the continuous subtropical high pressure that guided a large amount of water vapor to the land. The high pressure was affected by the
Taihang Mountains The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of . The principal peak is ...
and other topographical areas, causing heavy relief rain in the province.


Impact

From 8:00 on 19 July 2021 to 8:00 on 20 July, rainfall monitoring stations in Henan Province measured a large amount of rainfall. Five Chinese national monitoring stations measured the following: Songshan (364.6 mm/14.35 in), Xinmi (254.9 mm/10.03 in), Xinzheng (196 mm/7.72 in), Dengfeng (192.8 mm/7.59 in), and Yanshi (183.3 mm/7.22 in). Zhengzhou received abnormally heavy rainfall between 16:00 to 17:00 on the 20th. The rainfall in one hour was recorded as 201.9 mm (7.95 in), causing serious waterlogging. 13 reservoirs in Henan reached the flood control limit.


Zhengzhou

On 16 July 2021, Zhengzhou began to experience heavy rain. On 20 July alone, the average precipitation was 253 mm (9.96 in). Between 16:00 to 17:00 on 20 July, the hourly rainfall reached 201.9 mm (7.95 in). Over the course of three days, between 20:00 on 17 July to 20:00 on 20 July, 617.1 mm (24.30 in) of rainfall was recorded, nearing the usual average yearly precipitation. Videos emerged, showing cars floating in streets and
Zhengzhou Metro Zhengzhou Metro () is a rapid transit rail network serving urban and suburban districts of Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan province. It is operated by the state owned Zhengzhou Metro Group. As of June 2022, the network has 7 operational li ...
passengers waist-deep in water inside their carriage. Many cars on a road near the Danshi Subdistrict in Nanlong Lake were washed up by the rain. The Jingguang North Road Tunnel became flooded, trapping over 200 cars within. The Zhengzhou Meteorological Observatory issued a red warning signal for rainstorms, and the Zhengzhou Flood Control and the Drought Relief Headquarters upgraded the emergency response of flood control level II to level I. The hourly precipitation and single-day precipitation rates broke the historical record of 60 years from when records began in 1951. The Zhengzhou flooding raised concerns over whether the storm drain system offers sufficient drainage. The flooding in Zhengzhou left 398 people dead or missing. According to insurance reports, over 400,000 cars in Zhengzhou were damaged by the floods, resulting in over RMB 6.4 billion in insurance claims.


Xinxiang

Xinxiang Xinxiang ( ; postal: Sinsiang) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to its southwest, Kaifeng to its southeast, Hebi and Anyang to its north, Jiaozuo to its west, and the ...
reportedly received the most precipitation, receiving over of rainfall in a 24-hour period. Xinzhong Avenue, a main road in Xinxiang, was flooded on July 24. The road connecting Xinxiang and
Weihui Weihui (), formerly Jixian or Ji County (), is a county-level city in the north of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xinxiang Xinxiang ( ; postal: Sinsiang) is a prefecture-level city in no ...
also became impassable. The worst hit area was
Muye District Muye District () is a district of the city of Xinxiang, Henan province, China. History The BC Battle of Muye ended Shang hegemony over the Wei and Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is ...
, a partially rural district along the
Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. The source of the Wei River is close to ...
. Up to four days after the torrential rains, some rural areas remained inaccessible due to persistent flooding of access roads. By July 26, the floods reached Weihui, where over a thousand people were evacuated from a hospital. A total of 204,000 people were relocated after severe flooding in Weihui. Instead of the
Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
flooding, as was expected as it has happened historically, the and
Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. The source of the Wei River is close to ...
on the west were the main cause of flooding.


Kaifeng

On the evening of 19 July,
Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the No ...
was affected by heavy rainfall. By the morning of 20 July, the heavy rain escalated to torrential rain. Kaifeng issued a red rainstorm warning accordingly, which was changed to an orange rainstorm warning on the afternoon of 20 July.


Rest of Henan

Heavy flooding was reported elsewhere in Henan. The
Ying River The Ying River () is the largest tributary of the Huai River with its origin in Henan Province, People's Republic of China. From Zhoukou City in Henan the river flows through Fuyang City in Anhui Province then empties into the Huai River at Zh ...
, the province's largest river, overflowed causing flooding in its surrounding areas. In
Dengfeng Dengfeng (; postal: Tengfeng) is a county-level city of Henan Province, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou. Dengfeng has an area of and a population of 630,000. It occupies the south ...
, which also experienced flooding, an aluminum alloy factory owned by Dengfeng Power Group exploded, but no deaths were reported. The military was sent to protect Yihetan Dam. In
Hebi Hebi ( ; postal: Hopi) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, China. Situated in mountainous terrain at the edge of the Shanxi plateau, Hebi is about south of Anyang, northeast of Xinxiang and north of Kaifeng. As of the 202 ...
, the
Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. The source of the Wei River is close to ...
flooded several villages.


Casualties

302 people died from the floods and 50 were declared missing. 14 people died from the flooding of
Zhengzhou Metro Zhengzhou Metro () is a rapid transit rail network serving urban and suburban districts of Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan province. It is operated by the state owned Zhengzhou Metro Group. As of June 2022, the network has 7 operational li ...
Line 5 in Zhengzhou on 20 July. Six bodies were recovered from the flooded Jingguang North Tunnel. In
Gongyi Gongyi (), formerly Gong County (), is a county-level city of Henan Province, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou. It has a population of 790,000 people and an area of . City Gongyi is lo ...
, four people died, and floodwater forced more than 20,000 people to abandon their homes.


Aftermath

Chinese Premier The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...
Li Keqiang called for all-out efforts during rescue and relief operations and stressed that ensuring people's lives and safety is a top priority. Local authorities were tasked with improving the province's
flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
s and
emergency preparedness Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...
. A number of politicians in China and abroad expressed condolences for the loss of life. As of 21 July 2021, several Chinese companies donated a total of RMB 2 billion towards disaster relief funds. Through
Alipay Alipay () is a third-party mobile and online payment platform, established in Hangzhou, China in February 2004 by Alibaba Group and its founder Jack Ma. In 2015, Alipay moved its headquarters to Pudong, Shanghai, although its parent compan ...
's donation platform, 3.36 million people raised a total of RMB 100 million of donations. Another 33 million was raised through a Weibo donation channel. According to the Henan Charity Federation, a total of RMB 2.664 billion in donations was raised as of 23 July. All bus lines in Zhengzhou were made free of charge between 28 July and 28 August 2021 in order to reduce congestion, partially caused by the suspension of metro lines. An official investigation on the flood in Zhengzhou was released by the investigation group from the
State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...
on 21 January 2022. It revealed officials in the province had deliberately underreported at least 139 deaths from the flooding. The death toll was revised to 398. By 23 January, 8 executives, mainly from local municipal construction companies, were arrested by police on several charges. 89 party and local officials were disciplined, including 3 facing the prosecution.


See also

*
List of floods The following is a list of major floods. List of notable floods 20th century BC * Jishi Gorge outburst flood about 1920 BC 14th century * Saint Marcellus's flood a storm tide is also called the "Second St. Marcellus flood". * St. Mary ...
*
2021 China floods Several floods struck China starting in June 2021, most of them caused by heavy rainfalls in different areas. According to the World Meteorological Organization, such heavy rains are frequently a Climate change in China, result of climate change. T ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henan floods, 2021 2021 meteorology 2021 disasters in China 2021 floods in Asia 2021 floods Articles containing video clips Floods in China History of Kaifeng History of Luoyang History of Zhengzhou July 2021 events in China Weather events in China August 2021 events in Asia Disasters in Henan