The death toll following severe flooding in China’s Henan province and its capital Zhengzhou has risen to at least 33.

At least eight people were still missing, the authorities announced on Thursday.

Since last Friday when the heavy rains began, at least 376,000 people in the province had been brought to safety from danger zones.

According to official figures, at least 25 people died in Zhengzhou alone after the heaviest rainfall in the region since weather records began.

Videos showed how some of the multi-lane roads in the metropolis of nine million people had turned into raging rivers on Tuesday.

The water masses also flooded the metro, where hundreds of people were temporarily trapped in trains and tunnels.

The rainfall in the region was the heaviest since record-keeping began 60 years ago, coming as scientists say climate change is worsening flooding around the world, alongside other increasingly extreme weather patterns.

Rainstorms submerged Zhengzhou’s metro late Tuesday, killing 12 people and injuring five, while city officials said hundreds were rescued from the subway.

Nerve-shredding images shared on social media showed shocked passengers contending with the chest-high waters inside a train carriage. Rescuers cut open the roof of the coach to pull people to safety, local media reported.

(NAN)