[Epoch Times, July 26, 2021](The Epoch Times reporters Gu Xiaohua and Fang Jing interviewed and reported) Heavy rains in Henan Province, coupled with the official release of floods without warning, caused many levees to burst, many villages were flooded, and the victims continued to be there. Asking for help online, but unable to wait for official rescue, can only rely on non-governmental rescue teams from other places to move villagers to safe areas.
Dozens of civilian rescue teams from all over the country rushed to help Henan, but they did not receive strong support from the local government. The rescue teams all rely on the cooperation of the villagers to carry out the rescue.
Zhang Ye (pseudonym), a member of the Hunan Rescue Organization, told the Epoch Times reporter on the 25th that when he entered the boundary of Henan, he felt that the disaster was particularly serious. “The flood discharge was too severe and many dikes beside the river were collapsed.”
Zhang Ye’s rescue team went to Zhengzhou for the first stop, and then rushed to help Xinxiang. “This place came here today (25th) morning in Fengcun Village, Fengqiu County, Xinxiang. It is very serious here. Now when it is raining, the currents are very urgent. Today, I received villagers who came to our side and told us to save them quickly. We rushed over at 6 o’clock in the morning.”
He said, relying on the villagers to lead the way, “take them over one by one, some at home, some on the roof, almost 236 people should be transported.”
The village’s water and electricity are completely paralyzed Thrilling and difficult rescue process
Zhang Ye mentioned the serious situation of the disaster in Feng Village. “All the villages were paralyzed with electricity and water. Their side was basically the second floor, and the first floor was basically flooded. The high one was flooded to the third floor with a water depth of three meters. There are more than 3,000 people in this village, right now they are all moving.”
Zhang Ye pointed out that there are probably more than 40 civilian rescue teams here. “I estimate that there are more than 300 people in this row of rescuers involved.” “There are three villages with a total of more than 8,000 people. We are here. The next day, this morning (25th) there were about a thousand people transferred.”
Because the roads in the village are very narrow and the waters are not large, rescues will be difficult. “When the two boats meet, there will be problems. Take them out slowly. Tensile and orderly, there are more than a dozen in there. A boat will pick up the villagers, and then we will pick them up outside the village, which is about 8 kilometers.” Zhang Ye said.
“The distance is too far, and we must also consider rescue equipment, including gasoline, we are afraid that we will not be able to return, and that the villagers are also worried about themselves.” He emphasized, “The rescuers are very hard, very hard.”
He mentioned a thrilling case, “There was an old grandfather who was a flood hole not far from his house. He went up and took it without knowing what was lost. All of a sudden, people were rushed down. Our rescuers immediately took He hooked up, and after hooking up, the grandfather trembled all over.”
He also said that the most difficult part of the rescue is that some people still want to guard their homes and are unwilling to come out. “We told them with all our heart and lungs, saying that life is very important. Floods are ruthless. Without property, there are lives. , You can still work hard, talk for a long time, and then pull them out.”
Zhang Ye said that when you go to every house, the first thing is to find people, and then pull them out anyway. After the villagers are evacuated to a safe area, they will be handed over to local volunteers to respond and arrange.
“We can’t see government officers and soldiers” during the rescue, he said.
Into the disaster area, the people lead the way and rescue is fast
Zhang Ye said that after entering the disaster area, the people generally lead the way. “The people directly report the situation to us. The people lead the way. We will run wherever we need it.”
“The villagers are very enthusiastic, but the children are all the same. When you meet a seven or eight-year-old child, he will show the way and I am very touched. I will take you wherever the water is.”
He emphasized, “Neither did it connect with the government, because when it started (rescue), it was too slow to connect with the government. If we directly contact the masses, we (rescue) will be faster.”
He also mentioned, “The local community suddenly arranged a swimming pool for us on the night of the 24th. The army officers and soldiers came suddenly around 9:30. We also received a notice from the Emergency Bureau that we should retreat and they should take care of it. At that time, there were six chariots of officers and soldiers, there were more than sixty people.”
Zhang Ye revealed that they (the officers and soldiers) were also notified that there might be flooding here. Although the government asked them to retreat, they did not leave. In the end, the villagers led the way and led them to a gas station on the high ground.
“Then we did not retreat, so we stayed at the gas station. It felt like the water was already overflowing. The local villagers took us to a highest point. The villagers didn’t want us to go. We said we would not go. They delivered eggs and delivered eggs at night. Quilt.” He said he fell asleep at night and got up at 4 or 5 in the morning, why everyone was covered with a quilt.
Zhao Yong introduced that all their relief supplies, including lifeboats and medical equipment, were raised through private financing. All dry food, food, and materials were purchased by themselves and brought as much as possible, because when they arrived in the disaster area, the rescue team not only To be self-sufficient, but also to distribute to the victims.
The disaster relief process also made Zhang Ye deeply touched, “I saw that this non-governmental rescue organization is really indispensable. We do some things within our capacity.”
Editor in charge: Lin Congwen#
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