Heavy rain and severe rainstorms hit multiple areas in Henan Province from September 10th to 11th, with Xuchang City breaking its daily rainfall record. The urban area of Xuchang was extensively flooded, with streets turning into vast waterlogged areas. Due to the flooding, a bride was forced to take a boat to her wedding.
According to the Henan Provincial Meteorological Observatory, on September 11th, several cities are still expected to experience heavy to severe rain, with locally intense rainstorms. As of 7:41 am on the 11th, there were 47 alerts for rainstorms, thunderstorms, and strong winds in effect across Henan Province. Xuchang City, Taikang County, and Fugou County were under a red alert for heavy rain.
Xuchang City recorded 163.8 millimeters of rainfall in the 24-hour period from 8:00 a.m. on September 10th to 8:00 a.m. on September 11th, breaking the local record for September’s single-day rainfall and ranking first nationwide. On the morning of the 11th, the Xuchang City Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters issued a notice requiring immediate suspension of work, business activities, transportation, and classes in the central urban area.
Videos shared by netizens showed that on the morning of the 11th, Xuchang City entered a “waterfront viewing mode,” with many vehicles submerged in water along the roads. Netizens questioned, “Where did the money for the drainage system go?”
Another video shared by netizens depicted a bride from Changge City, under the jurisdiction of Xuchang City, who encountered heavy rain on her way to her wedding in Xuchang. With streets flooded, she sought help from a rescue team and had to switch to taking a boat to reach her wedding. Netizens joked that this was a “real-life version of weathering a storm together for a hundred years.”
Additionally, the Zhengzhou Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow alert for rainstorms at 1:30 p.m. on the 11th. Zhengzhou City had accumulated 40 to 70 millimeters of precipitation, with rainfall expected to continue from this afternoon into the night. The city’s main urban area, Zhengzhou Aviation Port District, and Shangjie District and its subordinate towns and streets are forecasted to receive 30 to 50 millimeters of rainfall. The local authorities activated a Level IV emergency response for flood control on the 10th, and all non-boarding schools and kindergartens in the city are closed on September 11th, instructing residents to stay indoors unless necessary.