Heavy rain hits! Villagers in Chun'an, Hangzhou: We haven't seen such heavy floods in decades

Chun'an, Tonglu and Fuyang issued red warnings for heavy rain; Lin'an and Jiande issued orange warnings; Xiaoshan issued a blue warning...

Affected by the northward movement of the plum rain belt, heavy rain occurred in many places in Hangzhou yesterday, and the entire city has launched a level III flood prevention response.

Yesterday afternoon, a reporter from Chao News and Qianjiang Evening News rushed to Weiping Town, Chun'an, where the situation was more serious: many farmlands and hiking trails were flooded, and flooding occurred in some places.

That evening, in Qishan Lujia Village, the reporter saw that although the river running through the village was still turbulent, the water level had gradually receded; in the auditorium, the villagers who were accommodated here had a steaming hot dinner...

At 7 o'clock in the evening on June 20, Wang Bin once again picked up the unfinished instant noodles in the conference room.

This bowl of noodles was made at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. He had eaten less than half of it before he went out to busy himself with the procurement of materials for the temporary resettlement site.

Wang Bin is the Minister of the People's Armed Forces of Weiping Town, Chun'an County, Hangzhou, and is also the temporary commander-in-chief of flood prevention work in Qishan Village, Weiping Town on that day.

When the reporter met him at the Party and Mass Service Center of Qishan Village, he had been busy at the scene for 12 hours.

"I didn't sleep well last night. It rained so heavily all night, which is rare." Wang Bin rushed to Lujia Village in Qishan at around 6 o'clock in the morning.

According to the news released by Chun'an County Meteorological Observatory at 9 am that day: From 0:00 to 9:00 on June 20, the rainfall in Weiping Town reached 130.5 mm.

In the early morning, a certain degree of flood danger occurred in Qishan Lujia Village, Weiping Town.

Wang Bin was among the first group of township officials to arrive in the village.

Qishan Lujia Village is at the end of the Xinlu Line in Weiping Town. It is the highest place along the line and the entire village is surrounded by mountains on three sides.

"The water comes down from the mountains," said a villager.

When the reporter arrived in the evening, the water level in the village had dropped a lot, and the water in most villagers' homes had receded. However, the small river running through the village was still turbulent. The rainwater from the mountain, mixed with mud, rushed down the mountain.

"It's still raining in the mountains. Anhui is just over the mountain behind our village." An aunt told reporters.

On the way to Qishan Lujia Village, the reporter met a 70-year-old man who was standing by the road with an umbrella, watching the flooding of fields in the village. "In the morning, water from the mountains rushed down and flooded the land. I don't know if the vegetables I planted will be damaged..."

The old man said that he had not encountered such heavy water in decades.

Walking into the village, all residents along the river have been evacuated. Some have been gathered in the village's cultural hall, while others have chosen to stay with relatives and friends. Although the rain has subsided, the flood risk has not been completely eliminated.

"We have set up cordons and guardrails along the river, and arranged special rescue personnel to be on duty in the risk area to prevent any accidents," said Wang Bin.

At present, the lives of most villagers in Qishan Lujia Village have returned to normal, and the village’s electricity and water supply are normal.

Twenty to thirty elderly people were temporarily accommodated in the cultural hall of Lujia Village in Qishan.

"Their homes are all at the foot of the mountain, and some are even on the mountain. We went up early in the morning to move them out." Wang Bin said that when the elderly were being moved, the water level in most parts of the village was above the knee. "Our town's professional fire brigade, civilian rescue team and villagers' representatives all came to help move the elderly. Some of the elderly were carried down the mountain by the rescue workers."

In the temporary resettlement site, the elderly sat quietly, occasionally exchanging a few words in low voices.

Most of the elderly have not yet fully recovered from the shock, but they all said that they feel safe in the resettlement site.

"We have water and food here, we are well taken care of, don't worry." After dinner, a grandmother took out her mobile phone to report to her family that she was safe. She said that her family worked and lived in Chun'an County. "They said they would come to pick me up and take me to the county, but I told them not to come, I am very safe here." The grandmother said that it was very troublesome for her family to rush here in such heavy rain.

The lunch and dinner for the temporary resettlement site are provided by the village's elderly canteen. The elderly canteen is located far away from the river and was not affected by the flood, so meals can be cooked normally.

The elderly canteen is run by a middle-aged couple, and each meal is provided to 10 to 20 elderly people in the village. After the flood, some middle-aged and elderly villagers had problems eating, and there were also many rescue workers and staff from the town who needed to eat.

"We cooked for about a hundred people at noon, and for sixty to seventy people at night." The person in charge of the senior citizen canteen said that they were a little overwhelmed because they had to cook so much suddenly.

75-year-old villager Shao Qiudi has been helping out in the senior citizen canteen for the whole day, washing and cutting vegetables, and helping with packing.

"Of course, of course..." She said repeatedly that there was a flood in the village and everyone should help each other.

At around 7 p.m., a large van pulled in a load of blankets and mattresses. "The village has also stockpiled some supplies, mattresses, etc. to cope with the flood, but there is still a gap, so we urgently transferred some from the town." Wang Bin said that most of the elderly will spend the night in the village auditorium, the Party and Mass Center office, and other places.

Wang Bin quickly finished the remaining instant noodles and ran to the door of the resettlement site to help move mattresses and supplies. "There are also some other villages in the town that have flooded, and the manpower to deal with them is limited. We will do as much as we can," he said.

After moving out the bedding and beds, Wang Bin and the staff worked to calm the emotions of the elderly at the resettlement site, allowing them to rest peacefully in the temporary resettlement site.

After 8 o'clock in the evening, most of the elderly people were settled down and began to rest.

"I feel a lot more at ease now that they have gone to bed," said Wang Bin.

However, Wang Bin put on his raincoat and took a flashlight and set out again. He was going to the river again with the firefighters from the town's professional fire brigade. "We will be on duty at the riverside and at risk points in the village all night to ensure that any dangerous situations can be dealt with in a timely manner."

The reporter learned that the flood situation in the entire Weiping Town is currently under control.

Zhejiang Provincial Water Resources Department and Provincial Meteorological Bureau jointly issued a flash flood disaster warning at 18:50 on June 20:

According to the future rainfall forecast of the Provincial Meteorological Observatory, it is expected that from 20:00 on June 20 to 20:00 on June 21, there is a high possibility of flash floods in Chun'an County, a relatively high possibility of flash floods in Lin'an District and Tonglu County, and there is a possibility of flash floods in Fuyang District, Jiande City, Zhuji City, Pujiang County and Kaihua County.