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The severe flooding in Henan Province of China has lasted for more than a week. Although the water situation in other cities such as Zhengzhou has gradually receded, Weihui, a small city in the northern part of the province near the Taihang Mountains, has become one of the few places where the water situation is still rising due to the flooding of the reservoir and the flooding of the river.
Under the siege of the flood, the city’s wide roads have become waterways, and the flood has almost completely submerged the first floor of the roadside store. More than 100,000 residents were evacuated from the urban area by means of rubber boats and forklifts. The patrol boat shuttled between the submerged buildings, searching for people who had not yet evacuated.
Although the evacuation operation seems to be a success so far, there have not been any reports of casualties, but on social media, many residents expressed dissatisfaction with the misinformation issued by the local government. Many people questioned that the local government, in order to “whitewash the peace”, still claimed that the water level was going down despite the rising water level.
According to Chinese official media reports, as of noon on Wednesday (July 28) local time, the Henan floods had caused 73 deaths, more than 13.66 million were affected, and 840,000 were relocated.
Evacuate the city
Weihui City, which has been in the flood for several days, belongs to Xinxiang City, about 80 kilometers away from Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, and has a population of nearly 600,000. The Communism Canal and Wei River, which were built for water diversion and irrigation decades ago, flow through the downtown area.
According to Chinese media reports, the amount of water accumulated in the urban area of Weihui was not very large in the first few days of the precipitation concentration, and remained below the knees and thighs. However, starting on Sunday (July 25), the upstream flood discharge , The stagnant water rose instead.
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Under the threat of flooding, more than 100,000 residents of Weihui evacuated the urban area.
The flood caused the Communism Canal and Weihe River to burst and overflow one after another. The flood flooded into Weihui City. The deepest part of the accumulated water in the urban area reached 2 to 3 meters, and the water supply and power supply of large areas were interrupted.
“This is our home… Now the water in the city is still rising, and the streets are full of relatives waiting to be transferred,” a Weihui TV host uploaded a choked video on Monday (July 26). Call on the public to help Wei Hui. This video was widely reposted on the Chinese network.
Under the threat of flooding, civilian rescuers and armed police officers and soldiers began an evacuation operation. Within two days, a large number of urban residents were evacuated to surrounding settlements by means of thousands of rescue boats and forklifts.
“The flood came very quickly, and there was no time to bring any clothes,” a resident who had been transferred to Wei Hui told the Chinese media “Zhongxin.com.” “My child followed my grandmother and was sent to other resettlement sites. My three nieces followed me. The conditions right now are definitely worse than normal at home, but in the face of the catastrophe, it’s good to be safe.”
One of the transfer difficulties lies in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College in the city center. The largest local hospital has thousands of inpatients, but the power outage cut off the power to the hospital’s machines, making it impossible to continue treatment for critically ill patients. The first floor of the hospital building located in the highest place in Weihui City has also been filled with water.
The Chinese media “The Beijing News” reported that with the help of rescuers, soldiers and civilian rescue teams, more than 9,000 people were transferred to other hospitals in Xinxiang City.
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People in rural Weihui, Henan Province are waiting for evacuation.
Except for the urban area of Weihui, the disaster situation in rural areas of Weihui is also not optimistic. A village branch secretary in Dunfangdian Township said on Sunday (July 25) that the village was completely flooded and more than 1,700 villagers were severely affected and asked for help from all walks of life for living supplies and medicine.
According to local television reports, Wei Hui has transferred 220,000 people affected by the disaster in rural areas, and the rapid evacuation in the urban area means that most residents of the city have evacuated their homes.
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People questioned
However, on Chinese social media, many Weihui residents expressed dissatisfaction with the local government’s disaster relief deployment and information disclosure. Weihui city authorities stated on Monday morning (July 26) that floods in parts of the county had begun to decline, but local residents said that the water level had actually risen overnight.
An article published in the local media was titled “Good News! The water level in some districts of our city has begun to fall! In the article, the city’s official media reported that “under the strong leadership of the municipal party committee and government, the city has overcome numerous difficulties… the water levels in some streets and communities have begun to fall.”
However, a Weibo identity certified as an employee of Henan TV Station posted on Tuesday (July 27) that the local water level was still rising as of 11 o’clock that day, and several sections of the Weihe and Mengjiangnu Rivers collapsed.
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“Not only did the Weihui City Government fail to formulate a plan to protect the lives and property of the people, it did not even issue an evacuation plan at all. There was no sign of the suspension of water, electricity and natural gas supply to maintain the basic lives of the victims, which caused a large number of people who did not know the truth to panic ,” the netizen wrote.
“How many people are displaced and homeless. Even so, the local official media are still singing hymns to announce the good news,” another netizen criticized.
The Chinese media “21st Century Business Herald” interviewed several Wei Hui residents. Many citizens confirmed that the decision to evacuate was their own decision, and they have never received an evacuation notice issued by the street or related departments.
Flooding in Henan: The victims lost their homes overnight and cried bitterly “there is no home, nothing is gone”
“I heard a lot of people say that they were all evacuated at three or four o’clock in the morning on the 26th… It’s really a city-wide evacuation, but they didn’t see the official notice,” a resident said.
“CCTV News” reported that 132 emergency rescue resettlement points have been set up in Weihui City, and 85,000 trapped people have been transferred and resettled.
According to the Henan Meteorological Observatory, there will still be heavy rains in Xinxiang, including Weihui, before Thursday (July 29), and the flood control situation in the area is still severe.