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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Motorists and subway passengers were trapped by flash floods in the city. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:29pm, 21 Jan 2022Updated: 11:07am, 22 Jan 2022

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.

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.

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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