Foxconn says iPhone manufacturing facility not impacted

Vehicles were stranded in the flood on July 20, 2021 in Zhengzhou in the Chinese province of Henan near the Zhengzhou train station.

Zhu Zhe | Visual China Group | Getty Images

GUANGZHOU, China – Taiwanese electronics maker Foxconn said Wednesday that its Zhengzhou factory – known as the world’s largest iPhone assembly plant – has not been affected by major flooding in the city.

Torrential rains hit Zhengzhou in central China’s Henan Province. Authorities said it rained more in an hour on Tuesday than in an average month.

The result was severe flooding in the city with more than 10 million inhabitants. Over 100,000 people have been brought to safety, at least 25 people have died and seven are missing, according to state media reports.

Zhengzhou, a major industrial center, is home to a large factory operated by Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn. It is the world’s largest assembly plant for Apple’s iPhones. Foxconn said its operations were not affected by the floods.

Foxconn told CNBC it had “activated an emergency plan for flood control measures at this location.”

“We can confirm that to date there has been no direct impact on our facility at this location and we are closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as necessary,” added a company spokesman.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

However, its CEO Tim Cook posted on China’s Twitter-like service Weibo.

“Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the floods in Henan Province and to the first responders helping people stay safe,” Cook said, adding that Apple will make a donation to support the relief effort.

Several other tech companies, including Tencent, Alibaba, and TikTok owner ByteDance, have also pledged donations. China’s tech giants are currently under close scrutiny by the country’s regulators.

“Very difficult”

Chinese President Xi Jinping described the floods as “extremely severe” according to comments published by the official Xinhua news agency.

Untested videos circulating on Chinese social media outlets such as Weibo showed people immersed up to their chests in water on a train on the Zhengzhou subway system.

Other images show cars floating in flooded streets.

Police officers evacuate traffic in flood near Zhengzhou Railway Station on July 20, 2021 in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China.

Zhu Zhe | Visual China Group | Getty Images

Zhengzhou’s subway network has ceased operations while hundreds of flights have been canceled. The army was called in to help with the rescue effort.

Various state media reported on rescue operations, including 150 kindergarten teachers who were successfully rescued and people who were taken from buses in flooded streets.

The state newspaper Xinhua quoted the chief forecaster of the Henan Provincial Meteorological Station and said the heavy rains are expected to continue until Wednesday evening.

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