The death toll from torrential rains in central China's Henan Province has risen to 69 as of Monday noon, with five people missing, local authorities said.
The death toll from torrential rains in central China's Henan Province has risen to 69 as of Monday noon, with five people missing, local authorities said.
The Henan Provincial Government in China recently provided an update on the flooding that has affected the province since 20 July 2021.

As of 26 July, heavy rain and floods had affected 12.9 million people in 150 counties (cities, districts) and 1,558 towns across Henan. The hardest hit areas include Zhengzhou, Xinyang, Xinxiang, Zhumadian, Zhoukou, Anyang, Shangqiu, Kaifeng, Puyang and Hebi.

As many as 24,474 houses have been severely damaged or destroyed. Damage was also caused to 972,000 hectares of farmland. Over 1.31 million people have evacuated to safer areas. A total of 69 people have lost their lives and 5 are still missing.

Flood water is slowly receding in some areas but the situation remains severe. Forecasters said more heavy rain is expected.


Satellite Images - Before and After the Floods in Henan, China, July 2021

Flooding was still visible on 26 July 2021 when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite acquired a false-color image of northern Henan province. For comparison, the same area is shown on 20 July 2020.

After the floods: Flooding is still visible in Henan province, China, 26 July 2021.
© NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin,After the floods: Flooding is still visible in Henan province, China, 26 July 2021.
Before the floods: Henan province, China, July 2020.
© ASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren DauphinBefore the floods: Henan province, China, July 2020.