Courage, action save villagers from landslide

In an act of bravery, Liu Mingfang, a grassroots leader in western Guangdong province, successfully evacuated 57 residents from their homes just before a landslide submerged their village on Sunday as a result of torrential rains from Typhoon Wutip.

Her timely actions ensured no casualties were reported among the 25 households in Zhonghe village, located at the foot of a mountain in Guizi town, Maoming city.

Liu, a village cadre since 2018 and a member of the Communist Party of China since 2020, declared that she is "never afraid of being misunderstood or scolded by the villagers".

Her dedication to community activism was evidenced in the work she and other local Party members and cadres put in for more than 30 hours since a geological disaster inspection was launched to combat the typhoon's aftermath.

The evacuation process, which transferred villagers to a temporary shelter located 100 meters away, took two hours. Liu, 46, had advised villagers in advance to prepare for an urgent evacuation. Before 1 am on Sunday, amid heavy rainfall, she and her colleagues navigated flooded roads with flashlights, using loudspeakers and bronze gongs to wake residents.

"You can scold me, but you must move to the safe place first," Liu reportedly told villagers who were reluctant to leave.

She was soaked through by the time the last villager was safely evacuated.

"When disaster strikes, the lives of the villagers always come first," she said.

Preliminary expert evaluations indicate the landslide displaced up to 5,000 cubic meters of soil and rock, damaging 35 houses. Despite the destruction, the villagers were unharmed. Liu's efforts earned her high praise from the province's emergency department on Tuesday.

With about seven to eight years of experience in disaster prevention work in hand, Liu said one "folk method" has always proved essential: observing surface water clarity.

"When water has become cloudy, that indicates a landslide or other geological disasters might soon happen," she explained, emphasizing the need to report the situation and organize immediate evacuation.

Following Typhoon Wutip, downpours continued to hit major cities in western Guangdong on Wednesday. The local government issued red warning signals twice on Wednesday, urging relevant departments to implement effective measures to cope with ongoing flood and potential geological disasters.

According to a statement from the Guangdong Provincial Department of Water Conservancy, 23 hydrometric stations across 18 rivers in the province recorded water levels exceeding warning lines on Wednesday morning.

In Huaiji county, under Zhaoqing's administration, one station reported a record peak water level of 55.22 meters, 5.22 meters above the warning line, at 7:05 am. About half the roads in the county have been flooded.

More than 9,100 residents in Huaiji's low-lying areas have been evacuated. Factories, schools and relevant units have been ordered to suspend production and services, and public transportation has been halted to ensure the continued safety of residents.

The Guangzhou fire and rescue brigade deployed more than 100 firefighters, 19 trucks and over 100 motorboats to Huaiji on Tuesday to aid in flood prevention, control and rescue efforts.

The Guangdong provincial government also urgently allocated more than 30 million yuan ($4.2 million) to Zhanjiang and Maoming, the hardest-hit areas, to help industries resume production and residents rebuild homes. This aims to minimize disaster impact and safeguard lives and properties.

According to preliminary statistics, more than 16,000 people have been evacuated to safety as of noon Wednesday. A total of 96 townships have been affected by the torrential flood and landslides caused by continuous downpours and storms throughout the province, the provincial water conservancy department said in a statement. No casualties have been reported so far, it added.