Video: Cars Float Down A Road After Devastating Floods In China

Scenes of destruction and desperation have emerged from the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, where record-breaking rainfall led to devastating floods. One video which has been widely shared on social media shows cars floating down an inundated road. Around 200,000 residents were evacuated in Zhengzhou and at least 25 people died after torrential rains caused landslides and flooding in the capital of Henan province, reports news agency AFP. The rainfall in the region was the heaviest since record-keeping began 60 years ago.

According to a Bloomberg report, the city was 18 inches of of rain fall in the 24 hours through 5 pm on Tuesday that submerged the subway - killing at least 12 people - upturned trees, flooded houses and left people scrambling for safety. 

One horrifying video that has emerged from the disaster shows dozens of cars submerged almost completely in water. The video, shared by Chinese state-affiliated media ShanghaiEye, shows cars floating like paper boats down a flooded road. 

"Affected by this year's sixth typhoon In-fa, Henan Province in the central China suffered a historic heavy rain. The provincial capital Zhengzhou City has recorded the highest single-day rainfall in the past two days," the media outlet wrote while sharing the video on Twitter.

Affected by this year's sixth typhoon In-fa, Henan Province in the central China suffered a historic heavy rain. The provincial capital Zhengzhou City has recorded the highest single-day rainfall in the past two days. pic.twitter.com/zhfjs7ylXo

— ShanghaiEye (@ShanghaiEye) July 20, 2021

The video has been widely shared on social media, racking up thousands of views and stunned reactions. 

The deluge on Tuesday was equivalent to more than 8 months' worth of the city's average rainfall, reports Bloomberg, making it an example of the extreme weather that many scientists say is exacerbated by climate change.

The official Twitter account of UN Climate Change also shared a picture of cars floating in water and wrote: "Dramatic climate impacts continue around the world. Zhengzhou in China has seen the highest daily rainfall since weather records began, receiving the equivalent of 8 months of rain in a single day."

Dramatic climate impacts continue around the world. Zhengzhou in China has seen the highest daily rainfall since weather records began, receiving the equivalent of 8 months of rain in a single day. #COP26 pic.twitter.com/7dtyHLUD6J

— UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) July 21, 2021

"Climate change has made extreme weather like heat waves and floods more frequent and more deadly in the past 20 years," said Greenpeace East Asia climate and energy campaigner Liu Junyan.

Other photos and videos from Zhengzhou, home to the world's biggest iPhone production centre, show residents being rescued from flooded trains, being pulled to safety from their inundated homes and landslides blocking several roads.