Jiangwan Town is dependent on land and water, with beautiful scenery and unique natural environment advantages, if it is not a flood, it should make great achievements in the cultural tourism industry. However, the floods caused by several heavy rains in the past few days have destroyed the local transportation, cultural and tourism projects, electricity and communication infrastructure in Jiangwan Town, making it an "isolated island" for a time.
Recently, Guangdong has suffered heavy rain and floods, and Jiangwan Town, Wujiang District, Shaoguan City, has attracted the attention of all parties. Previously, many netizens reported that from the morning of April 20, they could not contact their relatives and friends in Jiangwan Town, and it was not until the evening of the 21st that people called one after another.
On the morning of the 22nd, the first financial reporter entered Jiangwan Town along County Road 318 by driving and walking, trying to restore the experience since the heavy rain hit here.
I've never seen such heavy rain
The extreme heavy rainstorm once overwhelmed Jiangwan Town, which was surrounded by mountains and rivers.
According to many residents of Jiangwan Town, the rain has been falling on April 19, and it has been continuous, and the rain has gradually increased.
Ms. Huang's family has a small two-story building next to the kindergarten in Jiangwan Town. According to Ms. Huang, at around 8 o'clock in the morning of the 20th, the flood had not passed the first floor, and the family went up to the second floor to avoid danger. The rain continued to pour down, and the balcony on the second floor also began to accumulate water, and the rainwater poured into the house. Ms. Huang took a bucket to the balcony to catch water, "The rain is too heavy, and it takes about 2 minutes to pick up a bucket." ”
"I've never seen such heavy rain at my age, it's scary and dangerous. Ms. Huang recalled that a lot of thick wood poured down the street and rushed towards her house. Fortunately, rescuers arrived in time, and Ms. Huang and her family were able to escape and be sent to a resettlement site on high ground in the town.
Uncle Qiu, a resident of Jiangwan Town, told the first financial reporter that such a flood had never been seen before, "There were also floods in 2022, but at that time, there were only a few landslides in a few places, and this time almost every hill collapsed." ”
Uncle Qiu usually drives a small truck to sell fruits, and the house in the town is inhabited by his parents. His home was one of the hardest hit by the landslide, and "my pickup truck was also swept away by the floods, and the furniture and appliances in my house were soaked in water. One of my neighbor's buildings collapsed. ”
Mr. Yau said that within a short period of time after the disaster, government officials moved them to safety in a timely manner.
Heavy rains triggered a number of landslides that caused mudslides to pour into the river. "I guess the riverbed is now a few tens of centimeters taller than before, and I hope to raise the dam," Mr. Yau said, "so that the riverside residents can be more effectively protected." ”
According to the Shaoguan Meteorological Bureau, from 20 o'clock on April 19 to 20 o'clock on the 20th, there were heavy rains to heavy rains and local heavy rains in Shaoguan City, with an average rainfall of 117.2 mm in the city. At 11 o'clock on April 20, the Shaoguan City Three Defense Headquarters upgraded the flood control level III emergency response to the flood control level II emergency response. The water level of the hydrological station in Shaoguan urban area reached the peak water level of 54.2 meters on the night of the 20th, exceeding the alert water level by 1.2 meters (close to or slightly exceeding the flood peak water level on April 6), and the corresponding flow was 7,000 cubic meters per second, which was more than once in five years.
The flood cut off traffic and communications, and the town of Jiangwan became an isolated island. A rescue effort ensued.
8-hour hike to help the "island"
At about 18 o'clock in the afternoon of April 22, after many days of rescue and hard work in Jiangwan Town, Guo Hai and his teammates finally had to go down the mountain to rest.
Jiangwan Town is located in the west of Wujiang District, adjacent to Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County in the west and south, Longgui Town in the north, surrounded by green mountains on all sides, and the only highway leading to the outside world is County Road 318. At around 9 a.m. on April 20, other rescue teams arrived around Jiangwan Town and prepared to enter the central city to carry out rescue, but due to dozens of landslides along the road, the road ahead was blocked. A person involved in the rescue said.
When the only road was inaccessible, the mountain road became a route for the advance team to try to break through. Guo Hai said that he received an order at noon on the 20th and immediately took a detour from the depths of the mountains in neighboring Ruyuan County to Jiangwan Town.
The mountain road along the way is only about 1 person wide, Guo Hai and the team members walked cautiously, with a canyon under their feet, and they may fall down if they are not careful. In some places, pedestrians could not pass at all, Guo Hai and the team members put their arms on the shoulders of their teammates, and everyone was connected to each other and worked together to pass through layers of obstacles.
Guo Hai said that under the heavy rain in Shaoguan for several days, the mountain has absorbed enough rainwater, and the soil has softened and loosened, and it may pour down at any time. Guo Hai and his team members risked a large number of landslides and collapses along the road, and finally arrived in Jiangwan Town at 9:30 p.m. that day.
"It was an 8-kilometre journey and we walked for 8 hours. Guo Hai said that as one of the first advance rescuers to enter Jiangwan Town, Guo Hai and his team members carried Beidou equipment and got in touch with the outside world after arriving in the town.
At 20:30 on April 21, the Shaoguan Hydrological Bureau issued the "Shaoguan City Beijiang Mainstream Flood Peak Notice", showing that the flood peak water level of the Beijiang Shaoguan Hydrological Station was 53.16 meters at 16 o'clock on the 21st, and the water level was 0.16 meters above the alert level, and the water level was 53.01 meters at 19 o'clock on the 21st. At 18:00 on the 21st, the flood peak water level was 43.92 meters, and the water level was 3.62 meters above the alert, and the water level was 43.89 meters at 19:00 on the 21st.
At half past nine o'clock in the evening of the 20th, Guo Hai arrived in Jiangwan Town. "The water level on the town street is very high, and it is the peak time when the people have been moved to a safe position. It wasn't until the next morning that the waters receded. ”
According to the information sent by Shaoguan officials to the first financial reporter, as of 17 o'clock on April 22, a total of about 1,000 people at all levels of firefighting, armed police, garrison troops, comprehensive emergency rescue, public security, mine rescue, medical rescue, etc., dispatched 32 helicopters, more than 150 large machinery and large vehicles, carried satellite phones, medical supplies, emergency communication equipment and other rescue equipment, and entered the disaster point to carry out rescue work by walking around mountain roads and mechanical obstacle roads. At the same time, the inventory and relocation of the trapped people have been carried out in an all-round way, and the living needs of the affected people have been basically guaranteed.
Helicopter transfer rescue
The first financial reporter interviewed and learned that after the flood ravaged Jiangwan Town, 318 County Road was impassable due to landslides, and the emergency management department of Guangdong Province immediately opened up an aviation rescue channel and sent five helicopters to take turns to travel back and forth between Jiangwan Town and Shaoguan City to transport the affected people.
The first financial reporter saw at the scene that when the flood came, the residents of Jiangwan Town were moved to several safe resettlement sites arranged by the town government, including the second floor of the high-lying Jiangwan Market and Jiangwan Middle School.
"The government also stipulated that the river should be bounded, and one side of the river was bordered by mountains, and no one was allowed to live there, and everyone was moved to the other side of the river. Mr. Qiu said.
In fact, living conditions are no longer available in the town's residential buildings, and although electricity has gradually been restored, it has been difficult to fully restore communications, and running water has not yet been connected. In addition, the showers continue in the past few days, and I am afraid that it will cause another disaster.
"Yesterday they started transporting some elderly and injured residents, and today they started transporting other residents. At Jiangwan Middle School, the reporter met a number of residents who were waiting for a helicopter to evacuate.
The reporter saw at the scene that the Guangdong emergency helicopter landed on the playground of Jiangwan Middle School again and again. The helicopter that landed was loaded with relief materials such as quilts and drinking water, and then the rescuers immediately unloaded the materials. After all the supplies were unloaded, the empty helicopters carried the residents to the urban resettlement site.
"The planes brought in supplies, water, food, quilts, etc., and now the resettlement site has sufficient supplies of daily necessities and a safe place to live. Ms. Huang, a resident, told reporters that she asked her husband, who was about to go to work, to take a helicopter to Shaoguan City. "I'm not in a hurry to go out, I'm just waiting here, and I'm following the government's arrangement. Ms. Huang said.
When they woke up on the morning of April 23, residents of Jiangwan Town found that communication had been fully restored, the mobile phone signal was normal, and they were able to make phone calls to the outside world, but the tap water had not yet been restored.
Mr. Yau said that in the past two days, his mobile phone has briefly been restored to the mobile station, and then he has been given a way to communicate with the outside world. On the one hand, he reported the safety of his children and relatives who were far away, and on the other hand, he also contacted other relatives in the town.
At this time, 72 hours have passed since the floods washed away the roads and traffic, Jiangwan Town was surrounded as an isolated island, and communication with the outside world was cut off.
(At the request of the interviewee, Guo Hai is a pseudonym in the article)
(This article is from Yicai)