Due to heavy rainfall, in the early morning of August 9th, many vehicles were washed onto the streets in Zhidan County, Yan’an, Shaanxi, and some people were trapped.
According to the China Meteorological Administration, from last night (August 8th) to early morning today (August 9th), Zhidan County in northern Shaanxi experienced heavy rain. Within a 7-hour period from 10 p.m. on the 8th to 4 a.m. on the 9th, there was a violent rainfall of 173.1 millimeters, with intense short-term heavy rainfall of over 50 millimeters at 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. This has broken the record for the largest single-day rainfall in the area since meteorological observations began.
Chinese media reported that due to blocked drainage causing urban flooding, many shops were inundated, and numerous vehicles were swept away on the streets.
A circulating video showed the floodwater at the Luohe River in Zhidan Liujiagou Station reaching a flow rate of 4260 cubic meters per second at 2:45 a.m. A netizen in the video expressed, “This rain is too scary, the cars are being pushed away.” In the video, a man can be heard shouting, “The cars in the Chenghuang Temple ditch are being washed away.”
Local netizens expressed their distress, saying, “The losses are severe,” “I’m afraid of casualties,” “Rain exposes design flaws in urban architecture,” “It reflects whether the urban planning is reasonable or not, rather than a snap decision,” “These vehicles should be covered by the government.”
Another netizen commented, “This scene reminds me of when I went to Zhengzhou to see a doctor for sinusitis. It was fine when I went, but then there was a severe downpour, and I couldn’t return. My sinusitis was treated, but I lost a car that was washed away.” “Yanhe River needs repairs again.”
A netizen from Gansu said, “Gansu’s Jingchuan County is facing a similar situation.”