Extreme weather and government incompetence are blamed for life-threatening China flood

Residents cite poor drainage and inadequate warning systems in Zhengzhou for damage caused in floods, writes William Yang

A sanitation worker cleans rubbish from a flooded street on Wednesday in Zhengzhou, Henan province (Visual China Group/Getty)

After days of record-breaking rainfall and dramatic scenes of flooding, Zhengzhou in China’s Henan province is gradually emerging from the natural disaster that has killed at least 25 people.

Kao recalled how he risked his life to get home from his office on Tuesday night. His office is in a 30-story building in the economic centre of the city, but the life-threatening rain and flooding had caused the building to lose electricity and water.

I saw a lot of water coming up from the underground drainage and the water current was so strong that the manhole covers were all swept away

Kao, resident of Zhengzhou city