Disturbing footage emerging from China‘s central Henan province showed subway passengers trapped waist-deep in murky floodwaters on Tuesday following torrential rainfall throughout Monday and Tuesday.

The authorities on Wednesday said, twelve people died after torrential rains flooded the subway in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou.

According to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters, more than 144,660 residents in China’s Henan Province have been impacted by torrential rains since July 16, and 10,152 have been evacuated to safe places, reported the Insider Paper.  

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A user posted a video on social media, where passengers in Zhengzhou, Henan’s capital, could be seen standing in a pool of muddied water, waiting for rescue.

Meanwhile on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website, the Henan Fire Department said it was working to rescue passengers from the train line.

After being pounded by the heavy rainfall water levels in 16 large and medium-sized reservoirs in the province rose above the alert level.

In Lushan County, Pingdingshan City, the most precipitation was recorded with 400.8 mm.

Even the city streets are submerged in torrential waters.

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More than 144,660 residents have been affected by the torrential rains and subsequent flooding, with more than 10,000 people forced to flee to safe ground, according to China’s Xinhua News Agency.

The Zhengzhou local government has warned people that the “flood control situation is grim,” with the risk of disaster “extremely high,” in a statement on their website,

The government officials have also warned residents to stay home or in a safe place and to remain alert for updates.

A disaster relief emergency dispatch meeting was held on Tuesday, the city said, with Xu Liyi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, leading the talks.

It is expected that the downpour could continue until Thursday.

The news of the floods in China follows the haunting incidents in Germany and other parts of western Europe, where people are grappling with the impact of severe flooding that has left at least 197 dead, with at least 300 others missing and 749 injured, according to police and affected regional governments.

The floods in western Europe, as well as the recent deadly heatwave in parts of the western United States and Canada, have brought the climate crisis into sharper focus, with politicians and climate experts alike warning that the international community must step up its efforts to combat climate change.