Trail of damage widens as rainstorms move northward

Li Fen, 38, who lives in a village in Pingshan county in Shijiazhuang, had to return home early on Thursday after rain hampered several attempts to go to work. "The roads were either blocked by mudslides or closed by traffic workers for safety concerns," he said.

Li lives close to a hill covered with solar panels. "Standing in my yard, I could see that the panels, which are usually lined up, were in serious disarray due to the rain and wind," he said.

Although cities north of Zhengzhou were experiencing heavy rainfall on Thursday, authorities in Zhengzhou downgraded the city's emergency response for flooding from the highest to the second-lowest level in a four-tier warning system.

Floodwaters that had inundated the city's subway system and areas of downtown on Tuesday have receded in many districts, allowing repair and continued rescue efforts as well as a return to some degree of normalcy.

Qian Xin, who works for a real estate developer in Zhengzhou, said traffic had resumed on streets in downtown areas on Thursday, though streets were largely jammed with vehicles because of some collapsed roads.

Qian had been stranded in an office building since Tuesday afternoon when the rain became so heavy that buses halted service.

Widespread electrical outages followed the next day, but power had largely been restored by Thursday.

"Some of my colleagues have resumed business travel after flights became available," he said.

The city's transportation authorities said 90 percent of bus services would be restored by Friday. They were still assessing the ability of the suspended subway system to resume operations.

Shi Baoyin and Xinhua contributed to this story.