Table 1 Sample excerpts of citizen requests for climate adaptation referencing the Henan floods made from outside Henan Province

July 23, 2021

Chengdu City, Sichuan Province

During the summer, Chengdu is prone to heavy rainstorms. I would like to inquire if Chengdu Metro has any safety measures in place to handle extreme weather events, such as flooding of subway tunnels similar to the recent rainstorm and flood in Zhengzhou?

July 23, 2021

Shangluo City, Shaanxi Province

The heavy rain in Henan is truly shocking, which makes me think of my hometown, Zhashui County. I hope my hometown can remain safe, and that our country can enjoy peace and prosperity. I live in Zhoujiawan, Group 5, Wafangkou Town, Zhashui County. My hometown is a remote small mountain village. The rapid development of the country has greatly improved the appearance of my hometown, but some safety issues still make me anxious. Whenever it rains heavily, the river water in our area rises dramatically, with roaring floods that make us worry and lose sleep.

Several river embankments in my hometown were destroyed by floods more than 10 years ago and have not been repaired to this day. The newly built convenience bridge for travel lacks protective embankments on both sides, making it extremely dangerous when the water rises during heavy rain, greatly impacting our safety and property. I hope that the leaders can pay attention to our river embankment construction amid their busy schedules and eliminate these safety hazards as soon as possible. Thank you!

P.S. Of course, I only know a very small part of the issues I can notice.

July 28, 2021

Kunming City, Yunnan Province

Every summer, heavy rainfall in Kunming causes severe waterlogging and road closures, seriously affecting people’s travel. The key to a city’s development is flood drainage, not just the construction of buildings and roads. Look at Paris, France; its underground drainage system can even accommodate boats. We need to learn from the recent lessons in Zhengzhou and heed the warnings. I hope Kunming will make great efforts to solve its urban drainage problems.

August 3, 2021

Heze City, Shandong Province

What lessons can the heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou teach us about the construction of drainage systems in Heze? The heavy rainfall in Henan and the subsequent flooding in Zhengzhou highlight the importance of building wetland parks and reservoirs. In plain cities, drainage has always been a major challenge. Without the construction of robust water management facilities, merely building more structures poses substantial risks. Wetland parks and reservoirs are essential climate and water management infrastructure, playing a vital role in a city’s safety and environmental quality.

In contrast, the areas severely affected by the disaster are all far from rivers, reservoirs, and wetland parks. Clearly, drainage is exceedingly difficult without several wetland parks and an intricate network of rivers within a city. It is crucial to prepare for long-term safety. How much can Heze learn from the Zhengzhou flood disaster? Can Heze reserve more land in urban areas for the construction of wetland and water management facilities?

August 24, 2021

Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province

At the B exit of the Luohu Xinxiu Metro Station, there is no rain shelter on the ground. Every time it rains, rainwater directly floods into the metro station, and the escalators frequently stop working due to water ingress. Previously, I only wondered why this was designed this way and did not take any action to report it to the relevant departments. Last month’s flooding in Zhengzhou made me realize that it is necessary to raise this issue. The rainwater flooding at the B exit of Xinxiu Metro Station poses a serious hazard. I hope the relevant departments can address this issue. If similar problems exist at other metro stations, I also urge the relevant departments to understand and resolve them comprehensively.