Xinhua All Media+| Tianjin: Midnight Follow the Light to Visit Flood Area Phone | Villagers | Tianjin

On the evening of August 7th, a dark night enveloped the long embankment of the Daqing River. The wide river flows rapidly. "Look at the water level here." Hearing the sound, several flashlights reached out together.

Carefully walking to the shore, uncovering the water grass, and carefully examining it, Hao Guiwen, Secretary of the Party General Branch and Director of the Village Committee of Minsheng Village, Taitou Town, Jinghai District, Tianjin, felt relieved and said, "It's okay so far."

At present, the flood discharge work in Tianjin is still ongoing, and the water of Yongding River and Daqing River has successively entered the Yongding River floodplain and Dongdian flood storage and detention area. As an important flood discharge channel in the Haihe River Basin, the water level of the Daqing River continues to rise. Hao Guiwen, along with village officials and villagers, patrols the embankment day and night.

By the light of Hao Guiwen, we patrolled and searched all the way, experiencing each heartwarming moment in the Hongqu district.

The reinforcement of the riverbank cannot be delayed for a moment

"Look at the other side of the embankment!" Following Hao Guiwen's flashlight, the lights flickered in the distance. "That's a large mechanical equipment reinforcing the riverbank, and reinforcement cannot be delayed for a moment."

The Daqing River embankment is a protective embankment in Taitou Town, Jinghai District, Tianjin City. If floods occur, this is the first "pass" of Taitou Town and also the protective embankment for Shengli Village, Heping Village, Minsheng Village, and Jianshe Village in the "Four Villages of Qingbei".

Hao Guiwen led us onto the newly reinforced embankment, with construction vehicles shuttling back and forth. White sandbags and sand, gravel, and soil materials were used to reinforce the embankment.

Walking along the reinforced embankment, a blue temporary tent is brightly lit. As soon as he walked over, the reporter met Gong Zibo, who was about to go on an inspection. As a member of the Anneng Wuhan Rescue Base in China, he immediately rushed to the front line of flood control in Tianjin as soon as he returned from the rescue in Hebei. From Beijing, Hebei to Tianjin, at the age of 28, he has identified many risks and solved many difficulties.

Not only in the Daqing River, Tianjin recently organized an inspection team to continuously inspect the embankments of the Daqing River, Ziya River, and Dongdian flood storage and detention areas 24 hours a day, promptly eliminating flood safety hazards.

At night, in the light, people are there, and the embankment is there.

Cadres and left behind personnel from Minsheng Village are conducting inspections. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue

Late night phone calls and lingering concerns

Walking south along the Henan embankment of the Qing Dynasty for nearly a hundred meters, there is a small alley that only allows one car to pass through. The construction of embankments and the transportation of materials by dump trucks continue to pass by. This is the "main road" from the Taitou Town Government to Minsheng Village. Passing through the alley and heading west, a white two-story building at the end of the alley is brightly lit. This is exactly where the Party and Mass Service Center of Minsheng Village is located.

"Where are you currently living?" "How is your life?" "What are the difficulties?"... In the Party Mass Service Center, Zhang Jin, a member of the Party Branch of Minsheng Village, is calling each villager for follow-up visits. Hao Guiwen also listened attentively on the side, occasionally taking notes.

Putting down the phone, Zhang Jin said, "Many people haven't gone to the government's resettlement sites and just find their own place to live. The village has selected a few cadres and villagers to stay behind, and their main job is to conduct telephone follow-up visits to the relocated villagers, understand their needs in a timely manner, and conduct inspections in the village from time to time to prevent emergencies." He introduced that after the villagers are relocated, they often call to inquire about the situation in the village. "Sometimes before one can finish playing, the other enters again."

At around 10 pm, Hao Guiwen led Zhang Jin and several officials to the village for inspection. A long wooden stick and a high-power flashlight are their standard features for inspection.

"The villagers are not at home, we need to help them guard the village," said Hao Guiwen.

In addition to constantly monitoring the flood situation, it is also necessary to prevent continuous rainfall during the passage of floods from causing flooding in the village. "Everyone works together, patrols in batches, and reports any situation at any time." Since the flood head arrived in Taitou Town on August 4th, Hao Guiwen and the villagers who stayed in the village have hardly slept a whole night.

After a round of inspection, the time was approaching zero. The left behind personnel in the village lay thin mats and clothes on the ground in the activity room of the village party and mass service center. Hao Guiwen moved a chair and sat in front of the door of the village party and mass service center.

"Don't worry about these villagers. After they all fall asleep, I'll go sleep too," said Hao Guiwen.

On the evening of August 7th, village officials and left behind personnel had a conversation outside the village committee of Minsheng Village in Taitou Town, Jinghai District, Tianjin. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue

At the intersection of car lights, there are also "night watchmen"

The night is deep, and a traffic checkpoint in Taitou Town, Jinghai District, Tianjin is still busy. Vehicles transporting sand, stones, and soil materials line up one after another, and the dotted lights illuminate the quiet night.

Every day, many vehicles pass through the busy intersection of Jingtai Road and Liangtai Road. The east-west direction of the intersection connects the main road from surrounding towns to Hebei Province, while the north-south direction leads directly to the dam of the Daqing River.

At the intersection of light, Zhao Yang, the deputy captain of the Traffic Police Detachment of the Jinghai Branch of Tianjin Public Security Bureau, was busy nervously, verifying vehicle certificates, directing vehicles, and clearing congestion.

Zhao Yang and his colleagues are on duty at the checkpoint. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Weizhen

Zhao Yang said that he and his colleagues should not only release flood control engineering vehicles in a timely manner to avoid delaying the progress of dam reinforcement construction, but also pay attention to social vehicles at all times and persuade some returning residents to leave. On days when there is no need to be on duty, Zhao Yang also carries out daily work such as law enforcement, case handling, and mobile patrols in 8 townships under its jurisdiction. "I haven't returned home for about seven or eight days."

After the flood prevention "horn" sounded, more than 30 police officers from the detachment were all on duty, adopting a working method of four people in groups and "two shifts". They were on duty for 24 hours.

When busy, team members often look for opportunities to hastily grab a few bites of food on the roadside; Standing for a long time with sore calves, the police officers took turns to rest in the car for a while. At night, people are more prone to drowsiness, and everyone fights side by side with a strong will.

"I'm afraid I might miss out on any car while taking a nap," Zhao Yang said, not daring to slack off for a moment.

Lv Tao, Deputy Director of Jinghai Branch of Tianjin Public Security Bureau, said that since August 1st, the bureau has dispatched 556 police officers and 96 police vehicles daily, fully cooperating in personnel screening, relocation and resettlement, and maintaining public order. At the same time, high-density street patrols will be carried out, using electronic fences, drone patrols, and other forms to promptly detect and persuade returning individuals, ensuring the safety of people's lives and property.

The flood is still ongoing, and this night, many people on the banks of the Daqing River have been sleepless for another night.