The military blasted open a dam to release floodwaters threatening one of its most heavily populated provinces, as at least 25 died in torrential rains in central China.
Those who died include a dozen passengers trapped in a flooded subway.
The dam was blasted late Tuesday night in the city of Luoyang, just as severe flooding overwhelmed the Henan provincial capital of Zhengzhou, trapping residents in the subway system and stranding them at schools, apartments and offices.
President Xi Jinping described the situation as “extremely severe” with flood control measures entering a “critical stage”, state media reported.