BEIJING, July 17 (Reuters) – Rescue workers evacuated 141 residents from a densely industrial district on the outskirts of Zhengzhou in central China, home to a giant iPhone plant, on Friday after heavy rain triggered flooding that state media said reached neck level in some areas.
• Multiple roads and villages in the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone were flooded, trapping some residents in their homes, on rooftops and atop their cars, state broadcaster CCTV said.
• Firefighters used an excavator to evacuate 80 residents in batches, with people standing in the excavator bucket, CCTV said.
• No casualties have been reported.
• Rescue teams also mobilised 21 boats to bring those trapped to safety.
• On Thursday night, Zhengzhou’s municipal government issued an alert warning of torrential rain, potential flooding and mudslides.
• The economy zone developed around Zhengzhou International Airport in the Henan province is home to Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant, the world’s largest iPhone manufacturing facility.
• In 2021, extreme rainfall and flooding claimed the lives of at least 292 people in Zhengzhou, including 14 who drowned in the city’s subway system.
(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Ryan Woo, editing by Andrei Khalip)
