At least 33 people died and eight are still missing in severe flooding since Tuesday across central China's Henan Province, according to officials.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that the already drenched city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, was hit by 20 centimetres (8 inches) of rain from 4 to 5 pm on Tuesday alone, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Henan weather agency.

The torrent of rain turned streets into rapidly flowing rivers and inundated subways stations and cars in Zhengzhou.