The 1642 Yellow River flood or Kaifeng flood was a man-made disaster that principally affected Kaifeng and Xuzhou. Kaifeng is located on the south bank of the Yellow River, prone to violent flooding throughout its history. During the early Ming dynasty, the town was the site of major floods in 1375, 1384, 1390, 1410, and 1416. By the mid-15th century, the Ming had completed restoration of the area's flood-control system and operated it with general success for over a century. The 1642 flood, however, was not natural, but directed by the Ming governor of the city in the hopes of using the floodwaters to break the six-month siege the city had endured from the peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng.The dikes were burst in an attempt to flood the rebels, but the water destroyed Kaifeng. Over 300,000 of the 378,000 residents were killed by the flood and ensuing peripheral disasters such as famine and plague. If treated as a natural disaster, it would be one of the deadliest floods in history. After this disaster the city was abandoned until 1662 when it was rebuilt under the rule of the Kangxi Emperor in the Qing dynasty.