Urban sprawl has covered more and more land in impermeable concreteâincreasing the risk of rapid water buildup on the surface during heavy rain with nowhere to drain into.
What impact is climate change having? Images shared on Social Media showed streets of the city of Zhengzhou turned to rivers, with floating cars and residents stranded or wading through flood water up to 1.
The previous death toll, announced Friday, was 99.
Beijing has touted its massive dam network as a remedy for its devastating annual floods, but deluges in recent years have killed hundreds of people and submerged thousands of homes.
Some worry that given the scale of the damage, the post-disaster reconstruction will be particularly challenging for one of the most populous provinces in China.
Thousands of rescuers were sent in to assist northern Henan, where dozens of counties were hit by flooding on Wednesday night and Thursday, with reports of overflowing reservoirs, submerged roads, and cars and trucks being washed away.