Flooded Chinese city received 87 percent of its annual precipitation in 24 hours

Photographs and video footage circulating on the internet on Tuesday captured the harrowing scenes of severe flooding in China's Henan province, and the rainfall statistics further highlight just how out of the ordinary the situation is, even for a region prone to flooding.

The city of Zhengzhou, for instance, received 21.75 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period that ended Tuesday. That figure accounts for 87 percent of the city's average annual precipitation.

And in just one hour, CNN meteorologist Tom Sater reports, Zhengzhou registered a record 7.9 inches, or 200 mm, of rain. For comparison, regions in Germany that similarly experienced devastating floods last week, recorded 154 mm of rain in 24 hours.

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At least 12 people have died as a result of the flooding in Zhengzhou, BBC reports, while more than 10,000 people in Henan province have been evacuated.