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Chinese city boss punished for mishandling deadly floods that killed hundreds in Henan
- The demotion of Xu Liyi, formerly party chief in Zhengzhou, was announced almost 6 months after the disaster
- Footage of passengers trapped in the subway amid rising waters shocked the nation, and investigators said official ‘neglect’ had contributed to the death toll
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The Communist Party chief of the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou has been demoted for mishandling devastating floods that killed hundreds of people last summer.
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Xu Liyi was also given a serious warning about his “responsibility for the disaster”, according to the party’s top watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The city’s mayor Hou Hong also received a disciplinary warning.
Zhengzhou’s poor handling of the disaster shocked the nation, especially when footage showing subway passengers trapped in a tunnel amid rising floodwaters emerged.
According to the summary of an investigation into the disaster released on Friday, a total of 398 people have been confirmed dead or are still unaccounted for after the floods struck Henan in July.
While the province as a whole suffered serious losses, Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, was the hardest hit, accounting for 380 of the total casualties.
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The city also suffered 40.9 billion yuan (US$6.45 billion) in direct economic losses, more than one-third of the total damage in the province.
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