At least 33 dead, 8 missing from central China flooding
22 July 2021
Flooding from torrential rain in China's Henan province has killed at least 33 people this week and eight more remain missing, according to CNN.
The big picture: Flooding has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and led to at least 1.22 billion yuan (around $190 million) in damage across the province, which is home to more than 99 million people.
Flooding was particularly damaging in Zhengzhou, Henan's capital, where at least 12 people died after being trapped in an overflowing subway.
- Another four people died in a village near Gongyi, a city west of Zhengzhou, according to the New York Times.
By the numbers: Zhengzhou saw 31.02 inches of rainfall in three days, which is roughly 15 months' of worth of precipitation, according to meteorologist Jonathan Erdman of the Weather Channel.
- Eight of those inches fell in just one hour, which set a national record rainfall rate and compares to some of the highest one-hour totals globally.
Our thought bubble, via Axios' Andrew Freedman: Studies show that as the planet warms due to human activities — such as the burning of fossil fuels for energy — heavy precipitation events are becoming more likely and more severe.
- This was on display in Henan, as well as in Europe, where devastating flooding hit several countries, including Germany.
What's next: The death toll is expected to rise as rescue operations continue, and landslides and widespread damage to buildings have hampered searches.
In photos:
Firefighters rescuing people in Zhengzhou on July 22. Photo:Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Damaged vehicles stuck in a muddy road in Gongyi city on July 22. Photo: Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images
A person carrying a bag through a flooded street in Gongyi on July 22. Photo: Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images
People talking in a destroyed street in Gongyi on July 22. Photo: Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.