Heavy rainstorms hit Wuhan, Hubei Province, China from the night of June 18th to the morning of June 19th, with the city experiencing extreme downpours not seen in 30 years. The heavy rainfall led to widespread flooding and internal inundation in Wuhan, with Wuhan Railway Station in Wuchang district being flooded on its basement level.
From 10 pm on the 18th to 7 am on the 19th, Wuhan saw heavy to severe rain, accumulating 88.1 millimeters of rain within 8 hours. Caidian District was hit the hardest, with an accumulated rainfall of 191 millimeters, approaching a once in 30 years level. The local meteorological station issued a red alert for severe rain around 3 am on the 19th.
According to reports from “Extreme News” and the “Hubei Daily,” at around 5 am, a woman named Ms. Fang was riding an electric bike to work and encountered water up to her knees at the intersection of Xiongchu Avenue and Luoxiong Road in Wuhan. Many people hesitated to cross, but one lady attempted to pass through on her electric bike, and Ms. Fang successfully followed her through the intersection.
In addition, there was significant pooling of water at the intersection of Friendship Avenue and Renhe Road. A motor vehicle broke down due to flooding at the intersection of Hongshan Road East, leaving the owner briefly stranded.
As per information released by the Wuhan Traffic Police, as of 9 am on the 19th, there were 22 locations in the city where water accumulation was hindering the passage of small vehicles.
A video shared by a netizen showed that the severe rain also caused flooding on the basement level of Wuhan Railway Station in Wuchang. The video depicted ankle-deep water, with passengers carrying their luggage while wading through the water.
Mr. Mao, who was traveling to Wuhan, told the “Xiaoxiang Morning Post” that he arrived at Wuchang Station by train a little after 4 am. At that time, the rain was particularly heavy. When he reached the subway station on the basement level, he found about 20 centimeters of water on the ground. In order to proceed, he had to wade through the water, and later, staff set up a temporary passage using boxes.
Another traveler, Ms. Li, who alighted at Wuchang Station, also encountered the flooding. She mentioned that it caused a slight delay in her travel but things were fine once she reached the vicinity of the Yellow Crane Tower.
By noon on the 19th, staff at the service counter of Wuchang Station reassured that the flooding was limited to the basement level only. The ground was now mostly dry, and the station’s operations were back to normal.