Fears of a dam collapse in China... and the army warns

A Chinese military source warned yesterday of the danger of a dam collapse after "unprecedented" heavy rains fell in the center of the country, killing at least three people, paralyzing movement in a regional capital and flooding the subway.


A red alert was declared on Tuesday in Zhengzhou, a mega city 700 km southwest of Beijing, due to heavy rains in its Henan Province, which is China's highest weather alert level.


The regional command of the Chinese army said, in a statement, that a 20-meter-long crack appeared in a dam in Luoyang city, which has a population of about 7 million people in Henan Province, and warned that "the dam may collapse at any moment," and the army announced that it had sent soldiers to carry out Emergency work, including diversion of the flood path.


The state-run CCTV channel broadcast pictures of the streets of Zhengzhou flooded with torrential torrents of muddy water, while a number of residents were pushing their vehicles along the flooded roads.

The Zhengzhou Meteorological Administration said it was the highest daily precipitation rate since records began 60 years ago.

Other photos posted on social media showed passengers with water level at shoulder level on a Zhengzhou metro bus, some standing on seats, and in another video, rescuers evacuated passengers in the dark.


Bad weather led to the collapse of houses, killing at least one person and missing two others, according to "Al-Shaab" newspaper. The media also reported the death of two other people after a wall collapsed, and no official toll has been announced so far.

More than 10,000 people have been precautionary evacuated in recent days, according to the authorities, who earlier estimated losses in several million euros, according to Tuesday.

China experiences monsoon floods every summer, and last year, unprecedented floods in the southwest of the country destroyed roads and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news