China's 'iPhone city' relocates over 100,000 as floods kill 25

Military blasts dam to divert water threatening heavily populated provinces

More than two dozen people have died and over 100,000 have been evacuated as catastrophic floods swept through the central Chinese province of Henan.
 

China Central Television reported that 25 people have been killed while seven others are missing, citing a local government briefing. The city of Zhengzhou earlier said at least 12 died on a subway there. 
 

The floods in China come just days after devastating floods in Germany killed at least 160 people and follows extreme weather around the world. In recent months there’s been heatwaves in the US and Canada, major floods in India, wildfires in Siberia and drought in parts of Africa and Brazil.
 

Videos circulating on social media showed passengers trapped in Zheng­zhou subway cars on Tuesday evening local time with water up to their shoulders as a torrent cascaded through tunnels. Other videos depicted cars floating down broad avenues in the city, which has a population of 10 million.
 

The dramatic scenes in Zhengzhou, the result of at least eight months’ worth of rain that fell in 24 hours, comes at a sensitive time for President Xi Jinping, who just oversaw the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party and may get a third term as president in next year’s leadership reshuffle.

On Wednesday he described the situation as “very severe,” calling for “authorities at all levels” to put people’s safety first while urging improved early-warning systems for disasters. The deluge also threatens to disrupt manufacturing and food output in Henan province, which is home to the world’s biggest production base for iPhones.