The BBC has aired drone footage of the devastation in Zhengzhou, a city in central China that has experienced deadly floods this week. At least 33 people have died in Henan province, with 376,000 more displaced by the historic flooding over the past seven days.
The flooding caught international attention this week when at least 12 people were killed in Zhengzhou’s flooded subway. Footage of stranded passengers in chest-deep water went viral in what can only be described as a living nightmare.
Hospitals in Zhengzhou have been evacuated, with about 5,000 saved so far, according to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua. But many more are still waiting for help, as hospitals now lack supplies of food, water, and electricity. Internet is unavailable as well according to local reports.
Zhengzhou is home to the world’s largest iPhone assembly plant, though it’s not clear if the disaster will impact Apple’s supply chain. That’s obviously the least of anyone’s concerns at the moment.
The photos and video are absolutely heartbreaking, including the story of a baby pulled from the aftermath of a mudslide. The baby girl was buried in rubble but was saved by her mother, who was discovered dead on Thursday, according to the BBC.
These historic floods, where roughly eight months of rain fell in just a 24 hour period, according to the Financial Times, are going to only get worse as humanity struggles with the severe impacts of climate change. The rain of just three days in the province was a “once in a thousand year event,” according to the South China Morning Post.
Deadly floods have been hitting other parts of the world this month as well, with Germany seeing a death toll of at least 117 people from major floods that took the country by surprise.
Sadly, this appears to be the world’s new normal.