People unite in fighting floods

17 killed in Chongqing district struck by heavy downpours since Monday

Early this week, heavy downpours hit Wanzhou district in Chongqing, a mega-city with 34 million people on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

The torrential rains and the flood they triggered have left 17 people dead and two others missing in Wanzhou, Xinhua News Agency said, adding the lives of more than 130,000 people in 19 districts and counties of Chongqing had been disrupted and over 7,500 hectares of crops damaged.

Facing the disaster, local officials, community workers, village chiefs, volunteers and veterans have rushed to the front line.

On Wednesday, after similar incessant rainfall had hit many parts of the country, including Chongqing, causing heavy casualties and property losses, President Xi Jinping directed authorities at all levels to prioritize the safety of people and property and make concerted efforts to step up emergency responses to floods, mudslides and other natural disasters triggered by torrential rainfall in the country.

In the early morning of Tuesday, the water level of the Wuqiao River, a tributary of the Yangtze River in Wanzhou, was rising quickly. Flood water rushed to the nearby low-lying streets.

The situation became more serious and at 4:50 am, Wuqiao subdistrict launched an emergency response; at 5:00 am, sirens woke up the sleeping residents.

Community and rescue workers knocked on doors to urge the residents to leave for a shelter as soon as possible.

"The flood is coming, get up quickly!" shouted Xiang Quanxin, a local volunteer, while knocking on the doors from house to house. He helped inform over 20 households to evacuate.

"I was pounding against the doors with my hands, and shouted at the top of my voice, my throat was almost broken," Xiang recalled.

Thanks to the rescuers, the residents in Wuqiao were evacuated in an orderly manner and sheltered in safety.

However, Zhang Shenglan, a 78-year-old woman who lived alone, was trapped inside her house as the floodwaters rose.

After hearing about Zhang, Zhou Dong, a community worker, and Cheng Qihua, an auxiliary police officer, rushed to her house.

The only way to get her out was to cut the door open. Zhou and Cheng stood in the rising water and smashed the metal rolling door shutter with an ax. Inside the house, Zhang stood on a stool with water up to her waist.

After smashing the door, the rescue duo climbed into the house and rescued Zhang. At this time, other rescuers waiting outside put Zhang on a life buoy and escorted her to safety.

Wanzhou district organized about 500 rescue staff members, evacuated 4,500 residents and saved 112 people trapped by the flood in Wuqiao, according to local authorities.

Wei Guangming, 53, Party secretary of Qingtan village, could not sleep worrying about the heavy rain on Tuesday morning. He drove to Ciping, the lowest-lying area in the village, to check out the situation.

He found Xiang Jiayu, 90, and her son Yu Guangyin, 70, standing on the balcony on the second floor of their house as the first floor had been flooded.

Wei jumped into the water, crashed through the doors and carried the two seniors to safety.

Even after the floodwaters had receded, Wanzhou remained on red alert for geological disasters, according to a notice released by the Chongqing Planning and Natural Resources Bureau and the Chongqing Meteorological Bureau on Wednesday.

The Chongqing hydrological monitoring station predicts that some small and medium-sized rivers may experience varying degrees of rising water levels in the coming days.