The flood disaster in Zhuozhou can be said to have exceeded everyone’s imagination, and it also made this small border town southwest of Beijing instantly popular throughout the country.
As a firsthand witness and victim of the flood, I feel deeply about this. I think I have the obligation and responsibility to tell the story of this disaster as I saw it, and I hope everyone can learn from it.
It only took less than three days from the initial disdain for the flood to the later panic. In these three days, I felt the helplessness, weakness, and isolation of people in the face of disaster.
The first time I heard that the flood was going to pass through Zhuozhou was on Sunday, July 30th. At noon that day, a friend posted a picture of the flood control and relocation in an outside village in the basketball group, saying that the flood was coming and people needed to be evacuated. We didn’t take it seriously at the time and even made fun of it. As a northerner who grew up on the Yellow River, floods? It’s just a drizzle.
The afternoon before, because it had been raining, the basketball court in the community could not be used normally. Several of us who liked to play basketball had to spontaneously organize to go to the basketball hall in the city to play. It was particularly stuffy in the hall that day, and the rain outside was also heavy. The sound of the rain falling on the roof exceeded the shouts of our more than a dozen people.
After playing basketball, I also made an appointment with a few friends who had time to eat steamed stone pot fish at the north gate of the community, talking about life and ideals, and it didn’t end until half past ten in the evening.
The next day, which was Sunday afternoon, everyone was still living normally, not taking the matter of the relocation of the outside village to heart, thinking that this was just ordinary flood discharge, and it was a last resort to prevent it. So we went to a friend’s house to play mahjong again in the afternoon.
Because the next day was Monday and we had to get up early, we finished playing early at six o’clock in the afternoon.
That night, someone in the basketball group suddenly said that the heavy rain had filled the railway bridge on the 107 National Highway in Liulihe, causing all the buses to Beijing to stop running. It was not until then that I realized the seriousness of the problem, because the last time the buses stopped running was during the epidemic.
The next day, which was Monday morning, a guy in the group said that their village had already started to evacuate, and they had also forcibly stopped water, electricity, and gas. It seemed that things were true. At the same time, the accumulated water near Gaoqi in our community was very deep due to the continuous heavy rain. The owners spontaneously organized to go to the property to defend their rights and demanded that the property pump away the accumulated water. Under pressure from the owners, the property staff had to dig a big hole in the west side of the wall for drainage. It was also because of this incident that indirectly caused the backflow of the flood afterwards.
The terrain of the community where I live is relatively good, with a difference of more than two meters compared to the surroundings. Therefore, we also naturally thought that even if the flood came, it would only enter the low-lying villages outside and would not enter our community, because we had not received any documents to evacuate.
At this time, Beijing was suffering the largest rainfall in 140 years, and Mentougou, Fangshan and other places had also successively experienced large-scale mountain torrents. Such videos were posted in the group from time to time. Although we felt fear and regret, we still felt that it was far away from us. We just forgot that everything has a cause and effect, and Beijing is upstream of us.
Due to the continuous heavy rain, the national highway was interrupted and I could not go to work. I had to ask for leave and planned to go to work on Tuesday. However, with the closure of the 107 National Highway and the continuous rain in Beijing, it became more and more difficult to enter Beijing. Until this time, I still did not think that the flood would really come.
The basement of the community had already caused serious water leakage due to the continuous rain, and even showed signs of backflow, which also caused the elevators of the high-rise residential buildings to stop running, but the electricity and water supply of other residents were still normal.
But this normalcy did not last long. On Monday afternoon, someone successively posted messages in the group saying that there would be a large-scale flood discharge at twelve o’clock in the morning, and the water would be very high and both sides of the river channel might be buried. Various official and self-media outlets rendered this flood discharge extremely terrifying, and an uneasy atmosphere enveloped everyone’s heads.
At nine o’clock in the evening, someone in the group suddenly said that his friend was trapped in the warehouse of Matou Town and asked if there were any friends who drove large trucks to help rescue them. At the same time, the community property also issued a sensational message, saying that due to the rapid rise of the river water level, if necessary, residents of the low-rise buildings should move to the high-rise buildings at any time.
It was not until this moment that I truly realized the seriousness of the problem. And it happened that at this time, the villages around our community and the neighboring community suddenly lost power.
Around eleven o’clock in the evening, someone in the group shouted that the flood had passed the parking lot on the south side and flowed to the west side of the community. That side happened to be a piece of farmland, with low-lying terrain, and there was also a Muslim cemetery and a sheep farm nearby.
After a while, the residents near the west side of the community heard the bleating of sheep. I specifically went to the window to listen, and sure enough, the cries of the sheep were mixed with the sound of the rain. The sound was particularly uncomfortable and eerie, like the cries of lambs to be slaughtered.
Because the flood was going to be discharged at twelve o’clock in the morning, I didn’t rest all night. Perhaps because of fear, I was waiting for the moment when the flood would come.
The window was pitch black. In the endless darkness, I vaguely heard the sound of running water, which was getting louder and louder, and it was rushing. The villages and grasslands on the north side of the community also seemed to be slowly enveloped by a white curtain.
At half past twelve in the morning, someone suddenly shouted in the group that the dam of the big river had burst. I immediately became nervous. Everything also seemed to be developing in a bad direction. After another half an hour or so, around one o’clock, the community where I lived also lost power, accompanied by the intermittent interruption of the network.
Around three o’clock in the morning, someone said that the flood had begun to backflow in along the gap on the west side. Everyone was panicked. Some said they wanted to go down and move the cars and pad the cars, and some said that the flood could submerge the second floor. There were various opinions, and panic spread in everyone’s hearts at this time.
I couldn’t sleep because I was too excited and nervous. I just dozed off for a while and woke up at half past four in the morning. I took a flashlight and came to the north window of the living room. The villages and grasslands on the north side of the community had long turned into a vast ocean, but the water did not flow into the community, because there was a slightly higher road in the middle.
At five o’clock, it was already light, and everything outside could be seen clearly.
The north side of our community, which is the area where I am located, has a higher terrain, so there was no water at this time, but the south side of the community, and the west side where the wall was dug for drainage, had already entered a large amount of water, and many cars were submerged in the water, and the basement was also being filled with water.
In order to figure out the situation, I went downstairs to the northeast gate of the community around half past five. At this time, the flood had already submerged the 107 National Highway north of the traffic lights.
But fortunately, the rescue team had already begun to organize and carry out rescue operations. The Blue Sky Rescue Team was the first rescue team to arrive at our community. I would like to express my gratitude to them.
But due to the power outage and the interruption of the network in the water, it was difficult for them to organize effective rescue.
At six o’clock, I came to the northwest corner of the community. A lot of residents and rescuers gathered here. When I got closer, I found out that the rescue team was trying to rescue the residents trapped in the trees not far away.
According to the residents, there was a woman on the tree over there who had been shouting for help, starting from midnight yesterday.
The rescuers have also been responding to her shouts with shouts, and they want the trapped people to maintain confidence, see hope, and tell them that the rescue boat will arrive soon.
At this time, the flood had a clear upward trend and was about to submerge the entire community. Many people were at a loss, not knowing what would happen next, as if this place had become an isolated island.
About half an hour later, a large truck came and unloaded a rubber boat, and the rescuers prepared to go to the rescue. After more than an hour of rescue, they finally rescued a family of five from the direction where the woman was shouting. They were already exhausted but still expressed their gratitude and wanted to give the rescuers money, but the rescuers refused.
After the rescue, the rescue team prepared to go to the next place, but at this time, a problem occurred. Due to the poor signal, they could not contact the truck driver who had just arrived. They had to try to contact other drivers. The process was very tortuous and difficult. It wasn’t until twenty minutes later that another slightly smaller white truck arrived.
As soon as the truck driver stopped, the rescuers stuffed three hundred yuan into the driver’s hand, and the driver readily accepted it. At that time, my friend and I were looking at this scene through the wire mesh. I couldn’t stand it anymore, and I said, “What’s wrong with you? You also accept this kind of money? They are saving lives.” The driver replied disdainfully, “Or you come to drive?” I was furious at the time and replied, “I can’t drive a truck. If I could, I would definitely be ashamed to accept this money.” He didn’t pay any attention to me.
The rubber boat was very heavy and needed many people to lift it onto the car. At this time, a few small people who were watching in the community spontaneously drilled out of the community to help. My friend and I also wanted to drill over, but the hole was too small and we couldn’t drill out at all.
Finally, after the efforts of everyone, the rubber boat was finally lifted onto the car. The rescuers also planned to give cash to the people who helped lift the rubber boat, but they also refused.
Just as they were driving away, the truck driver looked at me with a contemptuous and provocative look. It was as if he was saying, “So what, what can you do to me?”
If there was no wire mesh in the middle at that time, I think I would have rushed over and punched him.
Time came to nine o’clock in the morning. I climbed the stairs back to my home. The mobile phone signal was intermittent. I came to the window and changed many positions before I barely had a few signals. At this time, I received a photo of the collapse of the underground garage of Building 13 at the south end of the community, and the car was also washed in.
There was also a video of the flood backflowing into the community from the outside.
These all show that the flood is still rising and there is no sign of weakening.
Half an hour later, someone posted a photo of the collapse of the underground garage. The collapsed area was very large, and the neighboring buildings were at risk of collapse. The property had no choice but to notify the residents of the entire building to move to the third floor of the community clubhouse.
Because I didn’t sleep well last night, I felt a little tired, and I went back to catch up on some sleep. When I woke up at half past ten, I heard the news that made me desperate. Someone said that they would continue to discharge the flood. There was one at 12 o’clock in the morning yesterday, one at 1 o’clock in the afternoon today, and another one at 4 o’clock.
At twelve o’clock noon, the entrance to the basement of the unit building where I live began to continuously fill with water. That position was just below the window of my house. The sound of the water was very loud, like a waterfall, and it made people feel panicked.
I thought of the fact that after the coal mine was dug out, water had to be poured into it to maintain the stability of the ground. I hoped that the water would pour in faster.
Next, we ushered in the most difficult problem in the disaster, which was the supply of living materials.
There is a large supermarket at the front gate of our community, but it has not been opened. It is said that it is afraid of being robbed, and there is no network now, so they have not opened it. Therefore, the small shops in the community were instantly bought up.
Because I usually have the habit of storing items, I didn’t pay much attention to these things. I thought I would leave the supplies to those who needed them more. Finally, I walked around downstairs for a long time and only bought 100 yuan of beef from the Niu Tou Banquet at the door.
After going upstairs, I never went downstairs again. I parked my car in the parking space behind the building. For safety, I also put a few floor tiles with my family, hoping to play a role. It was also because of this detail that I kept the hope of escaping.
At this time, the water level in the community was still rising, and I observed that it was rising at an average rate of 1 centimeter per hour.
At four o’clock in the afternoon, the third wave of flood discharge arrived.
At five o’clock, the road opposite the community was completely flooded by the flood, just like a river channel, flowing eastward along the road, and the guardrails in the middle were also instantly submerged.
Because the power had been out for a day and a night, the mobile phone battery was almost exhausted. There was no way, I could only take advantage of the fact that I could still walk downstairs and contact my friend on the 107 National Highway to charge his car. Because the 107 National Highway at the east gate of the community was the highest point, the water had not come up, and I also wanted to move my car over, but it had already been blocked and could not move.
After we three people went through the mountains and rivers, we finally came to the car with difficulty, but in the end, we still charged in vain, and the charging cable was not right. For safety’s sake, we returned to the community as soon as possible before dark. At this time, the water level downstairs had reached the vicinity of the thighs.
When I got home, I remembered that the computer had been charging all the time, and now it could be used as a power bank. It was really fortunate, so my mood also improved a lot.
With electricity, I can continue to maintain contact with the outside world. Although the network is very poor, I can still occasionally send and receive messages. This is like waiting for a letter from a lover in the ancient times, full of anticipation.
Since the power crisis and the deterioration of the network signal, the information I received has gradually decreased, but from the intermittent information, it can be seen that this flood was very serious, and almost the entire Zhuozhou was flooded.
But at this time, someone brought different news.
Someone said that a large area of the city center near the municipal government building and the family compound had not been flooded and was still maintaining normal electricity and water supply. I was very surprised because, according to the terrain, although our community was on the bank of the Juma River, the terrain was considered high. It seemed that it was still far behind the address of the government building and other government agencies. Then I received the news that the reason why it was not flooded was because they had already used flood control forces in advance to surround this area with soil. This area was originally high, and with the protection of the soil piles, the water would definitely not come over. It is not difficult to understand why the flood has been so rampant. Except for the spontaneous rescue organizations of the people, I have never seen a local official or even a traffic police officer, a police officer, or a firefighter on the front line. It turned out that they were protecting these people, and the others were not important to them.
My mother heard my complaints and didn’t take it seriously. She said that this was for sure, because that was the command center. If they were also defeated, then it would be completely over. I could only say helplessly that I hoped so.
On that day, more negative news followed. At this time, the rescue teams from all over the country had arrived in Zhuozhou one after another, but the highway entrances were not allowed to go down the highway on the grounds that they had not received orders from the higher authorities, which caused many lifeboats and inflatable rafts to be blocked on the highway. What’s more infuriating is that it is said that some highway entrances took advantage of the fire to rob and demanded that the rescue personnel pay 100 yuan per person for the toll before they could get off the highway. Many rescue teams turned around and returned to their original route in anger.
When I thought this was already the most shameful thing, I didn’t expect that something even more disgusting was still behind. After the rescue team entered Zhuozhou and arrived at the scene, there was no corresponding local official to coordinate and communicate. Many rescue teams didn’t know where to go, and even their basic accommodation and food problems were not solved. There was no way, the rescue personnel had to ask the nearby residents where the disaster victims were and then go there to rescue them.
At this critical moment of life and death, when every second counts, time was actually wasted on this kind of thing. It can be seen that the ability of the local officials is still limited, and the efficiency of doing things also needs to be improved. Thinking of the fact that I went to apply for a residence permit before and didn’t give them some benefits, I would have to get it a year later, which is really heartbreaking.
Time came to the evening, and the flood reached its peak. I watched the red car under the third floor in the distance slowly being submerged by the water, and the alarm sounds of the surrounding cars also began to scream, which was extremely harsh.
I sat by the window in the bedroom and stared at the slowly rising water line, hoping that it would stop at a certain moment or even start to fall.
I kept staring until nine o’clock in the evening, and the water line suddenly stabilized and no longer rose. I was overjoyed.
At half past ten in the evening, the red car that was submerged in the distance gradually revealed the roof. I thought I was hallucinating, and I ran to the north side to look at the water level on the road. The buried fence was also looming. I was sure that the water level had really fallen, and I quickly sent this good news to the group.
Tonight, I can finally sleep soundly.
The next day at half past five in the morning, the first thing I did when I woke up was to go to the south side of the bedroom to observe the water level. The water level had dropped significantly, and it had dropped about twenty centimeters. The license plates of many cars under our unit building had also been exposed. The gloom in my heart had also dissipated a lot.
Then the group began to discuss when the electricity and water supply could be restored. The professional personnel in our group replied that if we wanted to restore the water and electricity, we must drain the accumulated water, especially the basement, where the lines were all below, and we also had to replace the lines. It was estimated that the time would be relatively long.
Therefore, everyone began to prepare living materials again.
Time came to half past ten, and the water level had dropped by half a meter. I decided to go downstairs to buy some supplies. Although it stopped raining today, the weather was surprisingly stuffy.
When I came to the supermarket door, there were many residents queuing at a small door next to the supermarket. The reason why the main door was not opened was said to be because they were afraid of being robbed, and they also limited the purchase to one bottle of water per person, and they had to pay in cash. If they didn’t have cash, they had to register with their ID card and pay later. I thought it was quite humane, but when I saw the queue that stretched for two miles, I immediately gave up the idea of buying.
Not only private cars were trapped on the 107 National Highway, but also many trucks transporting vegetables. They also spontaneously set up stalls to sell vegetables on the spot, and the prices were fair and there was no situation of exorbitant prices. I also bought some. Although there was no water or electricity at home, at least there was still gas to use, and eating was not a problem.
Next was the problem of drinking water. Although I had prepared a bucket of water in advance at home, according to the current situation, it would take some time to restore the water and electricity. So I decided to prepare a little more, but after walking around the community for a long time, I couldn’t find a place to sell water. Even the supermarket that was queuing said that it had already been sold out and asked me to come earlier tomorrow.
Finally, I had to ask the big brother who played basketball with me to help me order a bucket of purified water from his friend. Water can be said to be a strategic material now, and it is very scarce. It is really fortunate to get it. I would like to thank this big brother again.
With the decrease of the water level in the community, everything should have developed in a good trend, but the last straw that broke the camel’s back still came.
On Thursday morning, my mother was afraid that the meat in the refrigerator would go bad, so she cooked all the meat. After cooking, I saw someone in the group shouting that the gas was off. I ran to the kitchen and saw that it was true.
This time I was completely panicked. I could bear not having electricity, and I could also bear not having water, but without gas, I would really have to run out of food, and I still haven’t seen any rescue supplies coming in, and I couldn’t even think about bread and instant noodles.
In a state of panic, people are particularly prone to believe rumors and make wrong judgments. Someone posted a news in the group saying that there would be another 300 to 400 million cubic meters of flood passing through Zhuozhou. This gave rise to ambiguity. Flood passing through? Is it passing normally? Or is it passing like it is now, all over the place? So everyone had an idea in their minds, that is, it is still possible to be flooded, and we must escape from here as soon as possible.
No water, no electricity, no gas, and the rescue supplies have not arrived for a long time, coupled with the scorching heat of more than 30 degrees, which made many people suffer. But how to escape? The entire community was surrounded by floods, and there was no hope in sight in a short period of time.
As time went by, good news still came. Someone posted a message in the group saying that people could queue up to take the lifeboat in the deep water, and the rescuers would send people to the place without water for free, and then they could find a large truck with a high chassis to send them to the high-speed rail station, and take the high-speed rail to Beijing or go south.
After receiving the news, many residents were carrying luggage and bags and walking out, especially the residents living in the high-rise buildings. They had had enough of the pain of carrying things up and down dozens of floors every day, and they all looked like they were fleeing a famine.
A big brother from our basketball group in Beijing had already entered Beijing smoothly according to the above-mentioned route. The only thing that made him sad was that the personnel who participated in the rescue day and night did not charge him any fees, while the drivers who took advantage of the national disaster to make a fortune raised the price and would not take people unless they paid enough money, which couldn’t help but make people feel cold. The darkness of human nature was revealed at this moment.
What’s more exaggerated is that from the time the flood peak passed to the time the flood fell, the local officials had never spoken or shown up, as if everyone had evaporated. If there was no news at the beginning because of the interruption of communication and it was impossible to carry out the rescue, it could be understood, but after a few days, there was still no news, which was enough to show how poor their emergency handling ability was, as if they were also washed away by the flood. Alas, it would be so good if it was really like this, it’s a pity.
On Thursday noon, without water, electricity, and gas, I looked at the scarce supplies and my family in the house, and I also made up my mind to escape.
Before this, my car was not soaked in water, and the few floor tiles I put down played a key role. The vehicles next to it had problems more or less and dared not start, while mine only had a little water seeping into the chassis, which also gave me the courage to escape.
After a simple discussion with my friend, we went to the entrance of the Children’s Hospital on the 107 National Highway, where the water was deepest, to check the situation and also to send some water and sugar to my friend.
The garbage piles at the entrances of the various units in the community had begun to rot after a few days, emitting a stench. If this continued, the plague would spread. And until now, the property staff had not shown up, as if they had disappeared, which also strengthened our determination to leave.
When we arrived at the entrance of the Children’s Hospital with water on our backs in the high temperature, my friend had already driven away, and there were still many people on the scene who wanted to pass by and were queuing up to watch. The water level at the deepest point in the distance was just at the position of the knees. If we drove slowly, there should be no problem, and I also saw several cars passing by smoothly in front of me.
So we decided to leave at four-thirty in the afternoon, one going to Shijiazhuang, one returning to Chengde, and I chose to go to Beijing.
On the way back to the community, a security guard was sitting by the bridge, exhausted and soaked with sweat, and his face was haggard. There were also two old people sitting on the side of the road resting. My friend gave the security guard the remaining half bottle of water he had to quench his thirst, and I did the same. The security guard gratefully accepted the water and handed it to the old people beside him. Seeing this warm scene, I felt much more comfortable in my heart.
After returning to the community, I started to pack my things. I carried my luggage up and down the stairs. After climbing up and down twice, I found that I seemed to have a little heatstroke and felt dizzy. For safety’s sake, I resolutely got into the car and turned on the air conditioner. The fuel display showed less than one-sixth. It would be very troublesome if I stayed any longer and ran out of fuel.
Time came to half past two, and I felt much better after resting for a while. Then I sent a message to my family to go downstairs and prepare to set off in advance.
Due to the unstable network, the three of us contacted each other by sending text messages, and finally we all set off separately.
When we drove to the waterlogged road surface, perhaps because there were too many vehicles, I felt that the water level not only did not decrease but also increased a lot. I hesitated for a moment and still drove in boldly. In the middle, because of the backflow, I avoided the vehicles in front and almost stalled twice. I could clearly feel the low roar of the engine at the time, like a giant about to sink into the water and suffocate on the verge of drowning, but I knew that I could not turn back, and I could not turn back. I could only move forward bravely. I stepped on the accelerator to the end and let the flood rush towards the windshield of the car. Finally, after a difficult journey, I finally escaped from this isolated island.
After coming out, the network was much more stable, and I also obtained more external information. The first official voice of the local government made people feel angry. Its content was not to encourage everyone to fight the disaster and provide relief, nor to thank the rescue teams from all over the country, nor to encourage everyone to resume production and build their homes, but a message asking for social donations, which is really sad, lamentable, ridiculous, and hateful.
Of course, the show that should be done still has to be done. The flood had just receded, and the people’s servants came out to pose for inspection work.
When the flood came, it can be said that our community completely entered a state of anarchy. The community residents did not cause chaos, and social order did not collapse. Moreover, there was no “looting and robbery” or “zero-dollar shopping” like in the Western world. The simple people still followed the normal rules of life. This alone is enough to prove that the quality and personal cultivation of most of our people are extremely high, especially in the community where I live and the nearby residents. They are friendly, helpful, and never abandon each other. When facing difficulties, they still remain optimistic and encourage each other. Everyone is like their own family, and they are willing to reach out to help those in need.
Thumbs up for these kind residents, you are the best.
On the contrary, their excellence has exposed the incompetence and inaction of some people. Therefore, through this incident, I deeply realized that the main contradiction in society now has become the contradiction between the increasingly growing excellent quality of the people and the prevalence of incompetence and inaction of some people…
Hey! There is still a long way to go. However, although the road ahead is still dark and the home still needs long-term reconstruction, we still believe that the darkness will be illuminated by the sun, and the home will still be full of warmth.
The above is my personal feeling in this flood disaster. Of course, due to the limitations of vision, everyone’s perspective and feelings will be different. I am just simply stating my own views. Please understand if there are any biases in the process.
Finally, finally, I sincerely say, “Motherland, I really fucking love you.”
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