Overnight rainstorm leads to waterlogging in Sheqi county in Nanyang city, Central China’s Henan Province on July 16, 2024. Photo: Sina Weibo

Central China's Henan Province has become ground zero for an ongoing deluge of rain that has hit the area stretching from Sichuan Basin to Huanghuai region, with multiple parts of the province including Nanyang, Zhoukou and Xuchang cities swept through by record-breaking torrential downpours. 

Henan Meteorological Service issued an orange alert, the second highest level, for rainstorms on Tuesday morning, forecasting that the Huanghuai region and parts of Xinxiang city in the province will suffer from heavy rain between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning. 

The provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters launched a Level-I flood control emergency response at 8 am on Tuesday. 

The southwestern part and middle and eastern parts of Henan were at the center of the deluge on Monday, with cities including Nanyang, Zhoukou, Zhumadian, Luohe, Xuchang, Kaifeng and Shangqiu hit by extreme heavy rainfall. 

The national meteorological station in Sheqi county in Nanyang recorded an accumulated precipitation of 418.6 millimeters between 8 pm on Monday and 6 am on Tuesday, breaking by far the local precipitation record, according to weather.com.cn. 

According to China's National Meteorological Center (NMC), nine locations in Henan ranked among the top 10 places with the largest volume of precipitation across China between 9 am on Monday and 8 am on Tuesday, with Sheqi county ranked the first with 418.6 millimeters. 

Sheqi county released a document on Tuesday to call on the Party members in the county to engage in the flood control and disaster relief and fight against the flood at the forefront, carrying out the work in an orderly and effective manner. 

The maximum precipitation in Sheqi county was recorded at Dafengying township with 606.7 millimeters falling between 8 am Monday and 8 am Tuesday, and 683.5 millimeters of rainfall was recorded between 3 am Monday and 3 am Tuesday.

A resident from Nanyang told the Global Times on Tuesday that the road in front of her home had been submerged by floodwater turning into a river. She added that she was lucky that her house escaped serious damage. 

The China National Commission for Disaster Reduction and China’s Ministry of Emergency Management, together with China’s National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, have allocated 10,000 units of central relief supplies, including disaster relief quilts and family emergency kits to Henan and Shandong provinces to assist in the emergency relocation of the affected residents and assure them the basic daily necessities. 

As of Tuesday morning, rainfalls continued in the eastern and southern parts of Henan. Tang Xiaojing, a meteorological analyst from weather.com.cn forecast that heavy rains will continue in the southern and eastern parts of Henan on Tuesday and Wednesday and the cumulative precipitation in the southwestern part will be expected to be extremely heavy, with a notable increase in intensity at night.