BEIJING: China is battling heavy rainfall that has caused dike breaches, flooded streets and forced the evacuation of people. In the past two days, three dike breaches occurred in sections of the Juanshui River in Xiangtan County, central China’s Hunan Province. One of them was successfully sealed on Monday afternoon. The Juanshui River flows into the Xiangjiang River, a major tributary of the Yangtze. In the wake of Typhoon Gaemi, some sections of the Juanshui River experienced record-breaking floods.
Hekou Town experienced a dike breach of more than 30 meters at 1:40 p.m. on Monday. A large number of houses and crops were inundated. With helicopters hovering overhead, rescuers raced to search for and evacuate trapped residents. “We are accelerating our search efforts to ensure that no one is left behind,” said Huang Xi, a rescuer at the site. Liu De’an, a 67-year-old local villager, was trapped by the rising floodwaters due to his limited mobility.
“I watched the water rise quickly, flooding the first floor of my house. I was terrified,” he recalled. “Thankfully, they (the rescuers) arrived just in time and saved me.” Another dike breach took place at 8 p.m. on Sunday in the section of the Juanshui River in Yisuhe Town, with more than 3,800 residents evacuated as of Monday morning.
Over 1,200 people, including armed police, militia and professional rescuers, have been mobilized into rescue and relief work, assisted by more than 1,000 local officials and members of the Communist Party of China, according to local flood control and drought relief headquarters. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
