Unexpected heavy rain hit Xixia County, Henan Province in the middle of the night, triggering flash floods. The temporary housing for workers on a project outsourced by a company in Henan was washed away by the flood. Officials stated that the flood has resulted in at least 5 deaths, 3 missing persons, and nearly 6,000 people affected.
In recent days, many areas in Henan have been facing heavy rain. From 9 pm to midnight on June 30th, extreme heavy rainfall hit Taiping Town and Erlangping Town in Xixia County, Henan, with a total rainfall of 225.3 millimeters within two hours, causing flash floods and leading to a sharp rise in the downstream Shewei River, damaging some facilities and trapping residents.
According to official reports, as of 7:30 pm on July 1st, all 5 missing persons had been found dead; additionally, 3 others remained missing. By that evening, the number of affected people in Xixia County, Henan, reached 5,751.
A local government official mentioned that after the rising of the river, basic infrastructure such as roads and bridges suffered severe damage, and some villagers’ greenhouses were also destroyed by the flood, with the extent of the disaster still being assessed.
The official disclosed that the missing individuals were mainly construction workers for a local factory under construction, who failed to evacuate in time.
On the early morning of July 1st, workers employed by Nanyang City’s Conason New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. in Henan were residing in temporary housing, which was swept away by the flood, among the missing workers were those who were constructing the factory.
A responsible person from Conason company mentioned that the company had not officially started operations yet and was still constructing the factory. The factory construction was outsourced to a subcontractor, and all workers were brought in by the subcontractor. On the morning of July 1st, it was discovered that the workers’ temporary housing had been washed away.
A tourist in the Laoliejing area of Xixia County, Guo Yi, told “Zhengzaixinwen” that around 9 pm on June 30th, the rainfall intensified. Soon, the homestays experienced a power outage, and mobile phone signals were intermittent. By around 10 pm, there was water accumulation on the roads near the homestays, with vehicles being trapped. “Soon, the water kept rising, and the cars were washed away,” Guo Yi mentioned.
On the morning of July 1st, reporters from Henan Daily drove to the Laoliejing area of Xixia County for interviews. During the heavy rain, many roads in the Laoliejing scenic area were damaged, with 15 buses used for transportation being swept away, as mentioned by the general manager Zhang Ningbo.
The Dongdagou in the area is the main channel for flood discharge in the scenic area, now widened to about 10 meters, with muddy water roaring downstream, and the riverbed filled with rocks of various sizes.
The Dongdagou leads into the mountains, with both banks lined with multi-story inns built by local farmers primarily for rent to tourists, collectively named Jieliang Mountain Resort, ranging from number 1 to over 100. The most severely affected were numbers 1 and 118. Especially near 118, a small temporary dam lake formed, eventually bursting through and flooding nearby inns, quickly destroying the original road, forming a new waterway.
The owner of number 1 is Gao, aged 51. Water entered the first floor of his house, about 1.5 meters deep, submerging all furniture and appliances.
Next door at 118 is the Feng family; the courtyard piled up with a meter-thick layer of mud and stones, with a seven-eight-meter-long tree that was washed down, pressing onto two cars deeply buried in the soil.
According to local officials, the main victims of the disaster were the inns along the river.
Meanwhile, the flood has caused interruptions in local electricity and communication services.