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Zhengzhou Metro Line 5 Flooding Incident

The Zhengzhou Metro Line 5 flooding incident refers to the severe flooding that occurred on Zhengzhou Metro Line 5 on July 20, 2021, during a heavy rainstorm. Despite the weather, the metro line continued to operate, and rainwater broke through the retaining wall of the Wulongkou parking lot, flooding the train tunnel. Official reports from the government stated that the incident resulted in 14 deaths and 5 injuries.[1] However, the death toll has been widely questioned because the trains were covered with black cloth during the subsequent search and rescue operations, preventing the inspection of their interiors.

Background

Since July 17, 2021, continuous heavy rainfall has caused flooding in various locations in Henan Province, People's Republic of China, including Zhengzhou, Luohe, Kaifeng, Xinxiang, Hebi, and Anyang. Zhengzhou experienced a record-breaking maximum hourly rainfall of 201.9 mm, the highest since meteorological records began.[2] Nineteen weather stations, including Zhengzhou, recorded their highest daily rainfall totals ever.[3] According to the China Meteorological Administration, the main reason for the heavy rain was Typhoon In-fa and the subtropical high pressure system continuously directing a large amount of water vapor to the mainland. This moisture was uplifted by the terrain, such as the Taihang Mountains, leading to heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding in Henan.[4]

Zhengzhou Metro Line 5, which opened in May 2019, is a loop line and was the longest and busiest line in the Zhengzhou metro system at the time of the incident. The affected section (Yueji Park—Shakou Road—Haitansi) crosses Zhengzhou North Station. Zhengzhou North Station, known as "Asia's largest marshalling yard," is quite extensive, and the tunnel passes through this station at a considerable depth. The tunnel between the stations has a topography where the sides near the stations are higher, and the middle is lower. This results in trains descending when leaving a station and ascending when entering one, which is energy-efficient.[5]

According to a regulatory document issued by the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China on October 16, 2019, titled "Urban Rail Transit Operation Management Measures" (Transport Regulation [2019] No. 14), Article 32 stipulates: In case of severe weather, relevant personnel can take measures such as enhancing surveillance, limiting speed, halting operations, or closing stations. If rainfall or flooding causes water to enter the station, severely affecting passenger services, dispatchers can issue a station closure order based on the station's application and organize train bypasses. Trains must not pass if water levels on the track exceed the rail surface.[6]

Incident Details

The entrance and exit line of Wulongkou parking lot, where accumulated water breaks through the retaining wall and enters the tunnel

On July 16, 2021, heavy rain began to hit Zhengzhou. From 14:00 on July 19 to 14:00 on July 20, the average rainfall in Zhengzhou reached 253 millimeters.[7] The heavy rain caused multiple stations and tunnels of the Zhengzhou Metro to flood. At 18:10 on the 20th, the entire Zhengzhou Metro network ceased operations, and a full evacuation of passengers was ordered. [8]At that time, the water depth in the Wulongkou Parking Lot of Zhengzhou Metro Line 5 was close to 2 meters.[9]

Around 18:00, floodwaters broke through the retaining wall at the entrance and exit lines of Wulongkou Parking Lot, entering the running tunnel between Shakou Road Station and Haitansi Station on Line 5. Simultaneously, train number 0501 made an emergency stop in the outer circle direction tunnel between Shakou Road Station and Haitansi Station.[10] Passengers soon noticed water accumulating on the tracks. After a period, train 0501 attempted to return to Haitansi Station but got trapped in a low-lying section of the tunnel.[11] Water began to flood the train, with water levels outside the train higher than inside. The water level rose above passengers' chests, reaching as high as their necks at its peak. Some passengers called the mayor's hotline, and others began recording video wills. Unfortunately, some passengers in the rear carriages drowned before being rescued.[12] Staff attempted to open the train doors to evacuate passengers, but the water outside was higher than inside, leaving no escape route, and they had to close the doors again.[11]

Rescue Efforts

At around 18:00 on the 20th, the Zhengzhou Fire and Rescue Brigade received a report about the trapped train. Upon arriving at the scene, they guided passengers to safety by setting up a rope ladder. Metro employees, emergency rescue teams, police officers, soldiers from the People's Liberation Army, and volunteer rescue teams all participated in the on-site rescue operations.[12] More than 500 people were rescued, among whom 12 died despite rescue efforts and 5 were injured.[8] Some individuals went missing and were not found immediately.[13] The Henan Provincial Government and the Zhengzhou Municipal Government established a special task force to organize search and rescue operations, emergency drainage, and risk mitigation. On the afternoon of July 24 and at 6:30 a.m. on July 25, rescuers found the bodies of two missing passengers. As of the morning of the 27th, no new bodies had been discovered.[1]

Follow-up Events

On July 21, 2021, the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China issued an emergency notice, instructing rail transit operators to learn from the recent flooding incidents. The notice called for the adjustment and improvement of emergency plans, including measures such as suspending train operations, evacuating passengers, and closing stations in extreme conditions exceeding design rain intensities. Additionally, the notice emphasized better communication with meteorological departments and strengthened information gathering on flooding and weather disasters. The Ministry specifically stressed that in case of flooding or similar emergencies, operators must strictly follow the "Urban Rail Transit Operation Management Regulations" and suspend operations if safety cannot be ensured.[14]

Yu Yifei, a new trainee at Zhengzhou People's Hospital, was trapped during the severe flooding incident on Zhengzhou Metro Line 5. Being near the carriage exit, he was rescued earlier. Upon reaching the metro exit, he heard many citizens calling for help from behind and decided to return. From that evening until night, Yu Yifei performed CPR continuously for six hours, saving more than ten people. On July 22, in recognition of his actions, Zhengzhou People's Hospital decided to waive his probation period and directly hire him as a full-time employee.[15]

On the evening of July 22, relatives of missing passengers entered the station accompanied by the police to search for their loved ones but found nothing.[16] On July 23, officials from the Zhengzhou Municipal Government, Zhengzhou Health Commission, and Zhengzhou Metro Group held a meeting with the families of the nine confirmed deceased at the Ninth People's Hospital of Zhengzhou. During the meeting, the identities of the nine victims were confirmed. The officials expressed their deep sorrow and informed that the main leaders of Zhengzhou had instructed to expedite the investigation and follow-up actions, with the results to be publicly disclosed.[17]

The entrance and exit of Shakou Road Station are piled with flowers to mourn the victims

After the incident, the official website of Zhengzhou Metro turned black and white on the morning of July 21.[18] Many Zhengzhou citizens and witnesses placed flowers at the incident station to mourn the victims.[11][19] On the seventh day after the incident, the sidewalk in front of Shakou Road Station was piled with flowers left by mourners.[20] Subsequently, the station entrances were surrounded by 1.7-meter-high barriers enclosing the flowers placed on the ground. Later mourners placed flowers outside the barriers.[21] The next day, the barrier directly facing the entrance was removed.[22][23] On the morning of July 30, Zhengzhou Metro Group held a brief memorial ceremony for the victims at Shakou Road Station and set up a memorial area in a nearby factory yard with free flowers for the public to pay their respects.[24]

On August 2, at a flood prevention and disaster relief press conference in Henan Province, then-mayor of Zhengzhou, Hou Hong, confirmed that 39 people had drowned in underground spaces such as basements, garages, and underground pipelines during the Zhengzhou heavy rain, including 14 victims from Metro Line 5.[25] On the same day, following instructions from Premier Li Keqiang and relevant laws and regulations, the State Council of the People's Republic of China established an investigation team for the "7·20" Zhengzhou catastrophic rainstorm disaster, led by the Ministry of Emergency Management.[26]

  1. ^ a b Zhang, Bing (2021-07-27). "郑州地铁5号线"7·20事件"中有14人不幸遇难 名单公布！" [The list of 14 unfortunate deaths in the 7.20 incident on Zhengzhou Metro Line 5 has been announced!]. m.news.cctv.com. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  2. ^ Chen, Jianhui (2021-07-20). "郑州气象局：郑州特大暴雨千年一遇，三天下了以往一年的量" [Zhengzhou Meteorological Bureau: The extreme rainstorm in Zhengzhou is a once-in-a-millennium event, with three days of rainfall equivalent to the usual annual total.]. www.thepaper.cn. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  3. ^ "河南：19个国家级气象站日降水量突破建站以来历史日极值" [Henan: Daily precipitation of 19 national level meteorological stations has exceeded historical daily extremes since the establishment of the stations]. www.jiemian.com. 2021-07-21. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  4. ^ Zhang, Lin (2021-07-21). "解读：雨到底多大？还要下多久？五问河南极端强降雨" [Interpretation: How much rain is it? How much longer will it take? Five Questions on Extreme Heavy Rainfall in Henan Province]. web.archive.org. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  5. ^ Li, Xiuli; Wang (2021-07-21). "郑州地铁5号线：为什么乘客被困两站之间？" [Zhengzhou Metro Line 5: Why are passengers trapped between two stations?]. Sanlian Lifeweek.
  6. ^ "交通运输部关于印发《城市轨道交通行车组织管理办法》的通知（交运规〔2019〕14号，2019年10月16日）" [Notice of the Ministry of Transport on Issuing the Measures for the Organization and Management of Urban Rail Transit Operations (Jiao Yun Gui [2019] No. 14, October 16, 2019)]. State Council Communique of the People's Republic of China (4). 2019-10-16. Archived from the original on 2020-10-10. {{cite journal}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Check |first= value (help)
  7. ^ Tian, Meng; Zhao, Lei; Ping, Fan; Zhao, Kunxian; Fan, Bingshan (2021-07-20). "河南持续强降雨 郑州启动防汛应急Ⅰ级响应". m.news.cctv.com. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  8. ^ a b Mayerhaba (2021-07-21). "罕见暴雨致郑州地铁全线停运 12人死亡" [A rare rainstorm caused 12 deaths due to the suspension of the whole Zhengzhou subway line]. CCTV-13.
  9. ^ Li, Hao; Hu, Yuwei (2021-07-21). "武警参与郑州地铁轨道淤泥清理工作" [Armed Police Participate in Zhengzhou Metro Track Mud Cleaning Work]. Global Times.
  10. ^ Li, Xiuli; Wang, Haiyan (2021-07-21). "郑州地铁5号线：为什么乘客被困两站之间？" [Zhengzhou Metro Line 5: Why are passengers trapped between two stations?]. Sanlian Lifeweek.
  11. ^ a b c Zheng, Yuxin (2021-07-21). "郑州地铁五号线亲历者：真的很可怕" [Experiencers of Zhengzhou Metro Line 5: It's really scary]. The Economic Observer.
  12. ^ a b Geng, Xueqing; Yang, Jie; Lin, Zilu; Gong, Ayuan (2021-07-24). "0501号地铁没有终点" [Subway 0501 has no endpoint]. China Youth Daily.
  13. ^ Zeng, Lingke; Liu, Qin (2021-07-21). "丈夫寻妻一天一夜后获噩耗，郑州地铁5号线有乘客至今失联" [After a day and night of searching for his wife, the husband received bad news that a passenger on Zhengzhou Metro Line 5 has been lost to this day]. Chutian Metropolis Daily.
  14. ^ Tang, Jun (2021-07-21). "交通部紧急通知：地铁淹水倒灌时，不具备安全运行条件的应坚决停运" [Urgent notice from the Ministry of Transportation: When the subway is flooded and backfilled, those that do not meet the conditions for safe operation should be resolutely shut down]. Jiemian News.
  15. ^ Xie, Yanpeng (2021-07-24). "免试用期！郑州地铁逆行救人的试工医生被直接录用" [No probation period! The trial doctor for rescuing people in the reverse direction of Zhengzhou Metro has been directly hired]. CCTV-13.
  16. ^ Pan, Junwen (2021-07-23). "郑州地铁5号线6名失联者家属在警方陪同下进入地铁站寻人：对着隧道呼喊，没有回应". Chengdu Economic Daily.
  17. ^ Lv, Xinwen; Feng, Yinlun; Wu, Qi; Geng, Siyu; Chen, Yiran (2021-07-23). "亲属讲述郑州地铁五号线9位遇难者失联前最后一刻" [Relatives recount the last moment before the 9 victims of Zhengzhou Metro Line 5 were lost to each other]. The Paper (newspaper).
  18. ^ Li, Guo (2021-07-21). "郑州地铁官网页面换为黑白色，暴雨致乘客12死5伤" [The official website of Zhengzhou Metro changed to black and white, and 12 passengers were killed and 5 injured in rainstorm]. 21st Century Business Herald.
  19. ^ Chang'an Street Governor (2021-07-27). "哀悼！郑州地铁5号线事故遇难者名单公布，市民为遇难者献花吊唁" [Mourning! The list of victims of the Zhengzhou Metro Line 5 accident has been announced, and citizens offer flowers as condolences to the victims]. Beijing Evening News.
  20. ^ Du, Jiangqian; Liu, Hu; Yang, Jiyue; Liang, Jiaqi (2021-07-28). "郑州大雨七日后： 地铁五号线外鲜花成路 亲历者现身送别" [Seven days after heavy rain in Zhengzhou: Outside Line 5 of the subway, flowers bloom on the road, and visitors show up to bid farewell]. West China City Daily.
  21. ^ Liu, Qin (2021-07-27). "愿天堂没有洪水！郑州地铁遇难者"头七"，沙口路站摆满鲜花" [May heaven have no floods! The first seven victims of the Zhengzhou Metro are covered in flowers at Shakou Road Station]. Chutian Metropolis Daily.
  22. ^ Liu, Hu; Yang, Jiyue; Liang, Jiaqi; Yang, Feng; Guo, Jie; Chao, Fengju (2021-07-27). "郑州地铁5号线"7.20"事件致14人遇难 沙口路站围挡拆除学生献花吊唁" [14 people died in the Zhengzhou Metro Line 5 "7.20" incident. Shakou Road Station fence was dismantled, and students offered flowers as condolences]. Fengmian News.
  23. ^ 网易 (2021-07-27). "橙柿现场：郑州市民为地铁遇难者献的花，为什么被围挡？郑州地铁方刚刚回应：具体是哪个部门竖的围挡还在核实中" [Orange Persimmon Scene: Why were the flowers presented by Zhengzhou citizens to the subway victims surrounded? Zhengzhou Metro just responded: The specific department that erected the fence is still being verified]. www.163.com. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  24. ^ Li, Guigang; Li, Chaoqing (2021-07-30). "郑州地铁5号线设追思处 便利民众祭奠罹难者" [Zhengzhou Metro Line 5 has set up a memorial office to facilitate the public's memorial service for the victims]. China News Service.
  25. ^ Qu, Xiaoyan; Li, Hong (2021-08-02). "郑州暴雨因地下空间溺亡39人 包括京广路隧道6人" [39 people drowned in underground space due to rainstorm in Zhengzhou, including 6 in Jingguang Road Tunnel]. Henan Daily.
  26. ^ Qiu, Lifang (2021-08-02). "国务院成立河南郑州"7·20"特大暴雨灾害调查组" [The State Council established the "July 20" extremely heavy rainstorm Disaster Investigation Team in Zhengzhou, Henan]. Xinhua News Agency.
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