Farmers rue losses from devastating flooding

Comparison with 1998

Locals are comparing the flooding in southern China with that in 1998, which killed more than 3,000 people and displaced 14 million along the Yangtze River Basin.

Since last month, continuous torrential rain has fallen in many areas of the south, and the waters of rivers, including the Yangtze, have exceeded warning levels. More than 20 million residents have been affected in 24 provincial-level areas nationwide.

This month, flooding in Jiangxi, Anhui and Hubei provinces has left 23 people dead or missing and forced the evacuation of 1.76 million. The waters also damaged 89,000 houses this month, the Ministry of Emergency Management said on Thursday.

The floods in 1998 were some of the worst since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949.

Wu Hejiao, 62, also from Guihu, who is staying at the relief station with her husband and grandson, said those floods lasted more than a month. However, there was no relief site for the villagers, who did not have hot meals every day or sleep in areas cooled by electric fans, as they do now.

"Many people lived in simple shelters set up on high ground, which lacked showers, enough drinking water and flush toilets. In addition, we were troubled by mosquitoes and other insects.

"Now, the shelter set up at the school is very good and the local government has considered almost everything we need," she said.

Wu and her husband spent 18,000 yuan this year planting about 1 hectare of land with rice and soybean crops, thinking they could earn 60,000 yuan from the produce. However, the floodwaters have dashed their hopes.

She said that if the flooding subsides before the end of this month, it may be possible to plant more rice. If not, the losses will never be recovered and nearly all the farmers in the village will have no income.

To build their three-story home, Wu's family borrowed from relatives, repaying the money this year. However, the house is now flooded and Wu has returned home once by boat to feed 15 chickens.

"I didn't sleep at night when the floodwaters inundated the house－I just hoped things would get better. The COVID-19 pandemic also meant we had to postpone planting and other farming activities. This year will be hard for everyone in the family," she said.

While the Guihu villagers are being cared for at the shelter, disaster relief teams comprising engineers and troops from the People's Liberation Army have been busy repairing the river embankment, filling in the 80-meter cavity on Wednesday.