Advertisement

Migrant workers stranded in China's flooded cities

Slowly wading through the flooded streets of Zhengzhou in China's Henan province, many migrant workers have been left wandering with no place to go.

The city of 12 million people has been hit with a year's worth of rain in the past week alone, destroying many residents' homes, disrupting transportation, and prompting volunteers to use a bulldozer to carry people to safety.

The damage has hit migrant workers the hardest, trapping them in a city far away from their hometowns and families.

36-year-old Zhao Jun is one of them.

"I'm only just over 30 years old, how could I have already experienced a disaster like this? I'm afraid to sleep at night too. What if the building collapses when I fall asleep?"

China's estimated 280 million migrant workers flock from rural areas to cities like Zhengzhou in search of better jobs to feed their families at home, often going back only once a year.

Now, many are stuck here, meaning some have been forced to ration food, and survive without power and running water for days and counting.

The floods have taken the lives of over 50 people and counting in Henan, according to state media.