The death toll from torrential rains in central China's Henan Province has risen to 69 as of Monday noon, with five people missing, local authorities said.

Local authorities said that six bodies were found after a five-day search operation in the Jingguang Road tunnel in the provincial capital Zhengzhou. A total of 247 vehicles were pulled out from the tunnel.

In order to reduce the risk of secondary disasters, the tunnel was closed and the authorities will decide its reopening after safety assessment and maintenance. 

Zhengzhou City in central China's Henan Province is getting back on its feet as record rainfalls weakened.

The city's base stations of communication which were damaged in the disaster have been fully restored as of Friday afternoon.

Power is expected to be restored to all affected residents by today. Water supply will generally go back to normal on Sunday.  

Over 85 percent of local public transportation has resumed operation as of Friday afternoon, but its subway remains shut for repairs.

The heaviest downpour in decades in the province has left at least 56 dead, including 55 in Zhengzhou. Five people are still missing.

The death toll from torrential rains in central China's Henan Province has risen to 56, with five people missing, local emergency management department said Friday.

Since July 16, over seven million people in the province have been affected by the extremely heavy rainfall. Rescue and reconstruction efforts are underway.

The death toll has climbed to 51 from severe flooding in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, as of Friday noon, said local authorities. 

Rainwater has damaged more than 44,209 hectares of crops in the city, causing a direct economic loss of about 65.5 billion yuan (about $10.12 billion).

The Weihe River in Hebi City burst its banks and flooded several villages, leaving people trapped, local media reported on Friday. 

The authorities in Hebi City's Junxian County upgraded its flood control emergency response on Thursday to the highest level, according to a statement from the county. 

A working team sent by the national flood control and drought relief authorities has coordinated and organized the rescue of those who are trapped in Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province, allocating 40 rushing boats and coordinating other rescue equipment to provide support.

The working team, led by Zhou Xuewen, vice minister of the Ministry of Emergency Management, visited Xinxiang on Thursday to help guide the flood control and relief work.

Torrential rain has affected about 5.5 million people in central China's Henan Province, with 33 reported dead and eight still missing, local authorities said on Friday. 

About 529,000 residents have been relocated to safe places. Rainwater has damaged more than 458,900 hectares of crops, causing direct economic loss of about 5.4 billion yuan (about $830 million). 

Around 1,500 people have been evacuated in Weihui City, central China's Henan Province as of 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, after record rainfall battered the area in recent days.

More than 3,000 people were trapped as downpour led to severe waterlogging at two local villages. 

Rescue efforts are still ongoing as local fire department mobilized 28 fire officers and three rubber boats for the affected.

At 11 a.m. on July 22, Henan's provincial meteorological observatory reissued a top-level red alert for heavy rains in Anyang, Hebi, Xinxiang, and Jiaozuo. A CGTN Stringer in Xinxiang, Henan Province, learned that near the Affiliated Middle School of Henan Normal University, the highest accumulation of water had reached waist-high levels yesterday. Now the floodwaters have begun to recede. 

Zhengzhou City in central China's Henan Province downgraded the emergency response for flood control from Level I to Level III on Thursday, local authorities said. 

Efforts should be stepped up to excavate drainage channels as soon as possible to reduce the water level of reservoirs, ensuring the safety of Zhengzhou City and the middle line of the South-to-North water diversion project, according to a working group sent by the national flood control and drought relief authorities. 

The working team, led by Zhou Xuewen, vice minister of the Ministry of Emergency Management, visited on Wednesday two reservoirs in the hardest-hit Zhengzhou, the capital city of central Henan Province. At least a dozen of people have died in record heavy rains and floods.  

The working team stressed that local authorities should guarantee food and shelter for the evacuated residents and urged quick resumption of production and normal life. 

It is necessary to immediately take preventative measures to exclude hidden dangers of reservoirs in the whole province, the working team emphasized. 

China's South-to-North water diversion project has served as the lifeline of water supply for China's parched northern regions for the past few years. The world's largest water transfer project was designed of three routes, namely the eastern, middle and western routes, and Zhengzhou is on the middle route. 

The death toll from torrential rains in central China's Henan Province has risen to 33, with eight people missing, according to local emergency management bureau.

Since July 16, over 3 million people across the province have been affected by extremely heavy rainfall.

Over 470,000 people in 58 villages and towns are affected in Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province, as the city is battered by record rainfall in recent days.

Local authorities had dispatched 138 rescue teams and 1,521 vehicles to the affected areas. 

All the public transport service will be halted and all the employees of enterprises and institutions except those flood relief-related personnel are asked to work at home, according to an emergency notice issued by the flood prevention authorities on Thursday in Anyang City, central China's Henan Province.

All the people in the underground shopping malls and parking lots are requested to evacuate to ensure security, the notice added.

A total of 73 rescuers from the Beijing Drainage Group Company, the city's drainage system operator, rushed to Zhengzhou, one of the hardest-hit areas in central China's Henan Province, to carry out emergency drainage mission on Thursday morning.

Heavy downpours and floods that struck Henan for the last few days have killed 25, with seven still missing. Rescue efforts are continuing.

The provincial meteorological station of central China's Henan continued the issuance of a red alert for heavy rain at 7:50 a.m. Thursday, as some cities in the province have reached precipitation of 50 mm.

It is expected that the accumulated precipitation in the cities of Anyang, Hebi, Xinxiang, Jiaozuo and Pingdingshan will surge at over 100 mm in the next three hours. 

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has mobilized local authorities and companies to urgently restore the telecommunication facilities damaged by heavy rainfall and floods in central China's Henan Province.

Many base stations and optical cables in the area were damaged, disrupting the communication services for tens of thousands of local residents. Mihe Town in Gongyi County, one of the worst-hit areas, suffered a communication blackout.

The MIIT has immediately activated an emergency response plan and organized local telecom authorities and companies to provide emergency communication services and repair damaged facilities.

As of Wednesday, 5,847 emergency personnel, 2,691 vehicles, 3,629 power generators and 21 satellite phones were rushed to the area. In addition, more than 31.81 million weather alert messages have been sent to residents. 

The team has repaired 6,300 damaged base stations and 170 optical cables with a total length of 275 kilometers.

The MIIT says it is closely monitoring the situation in Henan and pledged all efforts to restore emergency communication services. 

Zhengzhou City in central China's Henan Province was lashed by record rainstorms on Tuesday. CGTN reporter Xia Ruixue was trapped in her apartment building without electricity, water and mobile network for 24 hours. On Wednesday afternoon, she managed to get out from her home.

A drone footage shows an inundated residential area in the low-lying Zhengzhou City, central China's Henan Province.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) on Wednesday allocated a total of 100 million yuan (about $15 million) for disaster relief to central China's Henan Province that has been plagued by heavy rains and floods.

The funds include 60 million yuan (about $9 million) allocated by the MOF and MEM for natural disaster relief and 40 million yuan (about $6 million) from the MOF for agricultural production and water conservancy disaster relief. 

Death toll from heavy downpours in central China's Henan Province rose to 25 on Wednesday, with seven people remain missing, local authorities said.

Since July 16, over 1.24 million people have been affected by the extremely heavy rainfall, and about 164,710 people have been relocated to safe places, said Xu Zhong, director of the office of the Henan provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

Chinese authorities on Wednesday raised the emergency response for flood control to Level II, the second-highest level in the response system.

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(With input from Xinhua)

The extended duration and intensity of the rainstorms in Henan Province were due to several factors, including atmospheric pressure, an approaching typhoon and the area's topography, according to the China Meteorological Administration. 

Click here for more: What caused the heavy downpour in central China's Henan?

At least four people were killed after heavy rainfall hit Gongyi City in Central China's Henan Province, local authorities said on Wednesday. 

Two counties are largely inundated and rain-triggered landslides have occurred in some parts of the city.  

Gongyi is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Zhengzhou City, capital of Henan Province.

Record rainfall in central China's Henan Province, a major transport hub, has affected multiple train services across the country, causing delays, interruptions and cancellations. 

Railway authorities have offered ticket refunds and rebooking free of charges for those affected.

In Zhengzhou alone, up to 137 train journeys were disrupted, and reports said over 2,000 people were stranded in the city's railway stations.

As of now, 15 bus lines in rain-ravaged Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, have restored operation and other bus routes will be gradually restored depending on road safety, according to local media. 

Precipitation will continue across Henan Province until July 23, said forecasters from the national and Henan provincial meteorological centers on Wednesday.

The province is witnessing the heaviest rainfall in decades. The average precipitation in Henan Province reached 144.7 millimeters between 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 17, and 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday. In Zhengzhou City, the number reached 458.2 mm.

A total of 794 meteorological stations in the province recorded heavy rains, including five national meteorological observation stations that reported the highest daily rainfalls since weather records began in Henan.

Between Saturday evening and late Tuesday, 617.1 mm of rain fell in Zhengzhou, almost on par with Zhengzhou's annual average of 640.8 mm.

The city registered 201.9 mm of precipitation between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Tuesday, a record hourly high for the Chinese mainland. The city also broke its single-day precipitation record, hitting its highest level since Zhengzhou's weather station was established in 1951, according to Xinhua. 

Torrential rain has hit many parts of central China's Henan Province. The Henan Provincial People's Armed Police Force have dispatched more than 150 rescuers to the hardest-hit areas. They are carrying more than 5,800 pieces of rescue equipment, including inflatable boats. 

China's Ministry of Emergency Management on Tuesday sent seven rescue teams from neighboring provinces to central Henan Province as the provincial capital was hit by the most severe rainstorms on record.

Torrential rains flooded regions surrounding a parking lot along Line Five of the subway system. One passenger recalled the terrifying moment.

"The water level rose to our shoulders," the witness said. "Its impact was so vast that it washed things away easily. Several of us hung in there, including a child.  

"The two of us almost gave up because we were exhausted, but we kept holding tight to the railing with our arms. My arms were injured as a result. Bruises are everywhere. 

"If you didn't hold tight to the railing, you would be washed away easily."

More than 150 children and teachers of a kindergarten in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, were rescued by firefighters on July 20. They became trapped when the city was hit by the most severe rainstorms on record.

A dam in Yichuan County was breached with the river levee severely damaged following torrential rain in central China's Henan Province. A brigade of the 83rd Group Army of the People's Liberation Army was immediately dispatched to carry out blasting and flood diversion tasks. 

Transport services in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, and some national rail lines, have been partially disrupted following record rainfall. 

More than 100 train services were suspended at Zhengzhou East Railway Station, stranding large numbers of passengers. 

Beijing West Railway Station canceled services on 71 journeys on Wednesday. High speed trains running from the central Chinese city of Wuhan to Beijing were also canceled on Wednesday. 

Zhengzhou is a major railway junction in China. 

The city's subway network was suspended on Tuesday afternoon, and the airport also banned incoming flights from Tuesday night until noon on Wednesday. 

A total of 303 flights were canceled on Tuesday and around 1,100 passengers remained stranded as of Wednesday morning. 

Extremely heavy rainfall hit Henan on Tuesday, with precipitation in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, exceeding the highest level on local weather records, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

What we know so far: 

Zhengzhou municipal observatories renewed the orange alert for heavy rain at 9:19 a.m. on Wednesday. The authorities forecast that the rainfall in the downtown area of Zhengzhou will continue in the following hours, with accumulated rainfall exceeding 50 millimeters. 

Power service for the intensive care unit at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University was restored on Wednesday morning after a power outage at the hospital on Tuesday night. Over 600 patients in serious condition were evacuated. 

Around 200 soldiers of the Rocket Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army assembled on Wednesday to head to Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, on a disaster rescue operation. 

China's national observatory on Wednesday morning issued an orange alert for rainstorms in many parts of the country.

From 8 a.m. Wednesday to 8 a.m. Thursday, heavy rains and rainstorms are expected in parts of Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Yunnan.

Parts of Henan and Hebei will see rainstorms with up to 280 mm of rainfall.

The death toll from deadly floods in China’s Zhengzhou has risen to 12, as the capital of central Henan Province witnessed the most severe rainstorms on record. Over 100,000 people have been evacuated and rescue operations continue across the province. 

Over 6,000 firefighters and many members of the Chinese military are deploying to the disaster zone for rescue work. Authorities say nearly 2,000 PLA and police forces have been mobilized to rescue residents.

Videos showing the severity of China's Zhengzhou floods.

Rescuers are working tirelessly to save residents in China’s central Henan Province after the area was hit with a record-breaking rainstorm which lead to deadly floods.

The record rainstorms and flooding in China’s central Henan Province have left hundreds stranded in a hotel. Rescuers have safely evacuated over 100 children and elderly people, with rescue and evacuation efforts still ongoing.

China’s central government has upgraded the nationwide flood control emergency response level from Level III to Level II at 3:00 am Wednesday local time, according to the relevant provisions of the State Emergency Plan for Flood Control and Drought Relief. 

This came as central Henan’s capital Zhengzhou witnessed a rainstorm that broke all historic records.

China’s firefighters rescued over 150 children and teachers trapped in a kindergarten amid the severe flooding caused by a record rainstorm in Zhengzhou.  

The firefighter’s quick actions helped get children to higher ground amid the massive flooding that has killed 12 people.

China’s Zhengzhou has suspended all the arriving flights until Wednesday noon local time, as the capital of central Henan province sees record rainstorms and severe flooding. All passengers in the airport have been asked to stay, and all transport to the airport has been cut. 

The airport issued a red alert for massive flight delays.

China’s central Henan Province is having the most severe rainstorms on record, and it’s causing massive flooding in the city of Zhengzhou. Rescuers risked their lives to evacuate trapped passengers from the flooded subway. So far, 12 people have died in Zhengzhou and over 100,000 evacuated, according to local authorities.

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One person is dead, two are missing, and 1,231 people have been rescued in China’s central Henan Province amid severe rainstorms and flooding. Local authorities say a total of 3,590 rescuers, 718 vehicles and 145 boats have been dispatched as of 4:00 pm Tuesday, Beijing time. 

A brigade of the Chinese military has also raced into Henan’s Yichun county to blast a dam and divert the floods at the request of Yichun authorities. The brigade has a past record of rescue work in the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008 and Yangtze River flooding in 1998. 

The rescue is ongoing overnight.

See China’s firefighters risking their lives to rescue people trapped underground in the Zhengzhou subway in the disastrous heavy rain Tuesday. 

Authorities say all people in the subway are being safely evacuated, and Zhengzhou has suspended all the subway service due to the risk of flooding.

China’s firefighters used rubber boats to evacuate students trapped in a five-floor school building in a Xiaoliuqiao village of central Henan Province, amid a rare flood caused by extreme weather. 

All students in the building have been evacuated.

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The meteorological station in central China's Henan Province on Tuesday issued a red alert, the most severe warning for heavy rain, after cities including the provincial capital Zhengzhou were hit by downpours.

One person was reported dead and two missing in the city of Gongyi as one of its counties registered a maximum precipitation of 609.1 mm.

The national flood control and drought relief headquarters has raised the emergency response for meteorological disasters to level Ⅲ and dispatched a working team to coordinate flood relief efforts. 

More than 144,660 residents have been affected by torrential rains in Henan since July 16, and 10,152 have been relocated to safe places, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said Tuesday.

A total of 16 large and medium-sized reservoirs have seen water levels rise above the alert level after torrential rains battered most parts of the province on Monday and Tuesday.

Longmen Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Luoyang City, and the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng City, have been temporarily shut.

Train services were suspended and many highways were closed and flights delayed or canceled in Henan.

Heavy rains are expected to lash the central, western and northern areas of the province in the next 24 hours, according to forecasts. 

(With input from Xinhua)