Efforts to deliver emergency rations and relocate residents are continuing at a brisk pace, as torrential downpours lash Zixing City in central China's Hunan Province have triggered floods and led to power and telecommunications outages in mountainous regions.
Zixing City has been experiencing a record rainfall since last Friday due to the impact of Typhoon Gaemi, with 14 roads interrupted.
The Department of Emergency Management of Hunan Province dispatched four helicopters to transport relief supplies and transfer trapped injured residents.
By Tuesday afternoon, more than 130 flights had been completed by four helicopters, with over 30 tons of emergency supplies, such as rice, flour, cooking oil and quilts, delivered to flood-isolated villages, which can enable the daily living needs of 15,000 people for two days.
In addition to transport supplies to 33 villages in four towns, helicopters are also used to transfer the injured, with medical workers, stretchers and ambulances standing by at the temporary distributing center of supplies.
At present, 47 injured residents have been transferred by air.
When flying to the flood-isolated areas, helicopters have also carried more than 100 personnel including rescuers, firefighters and medical staff in batches, as part of the efforts to resume the normal production and living order of affected residents in the flood-hit villages as soon as possible.
As of 17:00 on Saturday, the average precipitation of Bamianshan Town in Zixing City had reached 498 millimeters. And the rain stopped basically on Sunday.
Torrential rains have not only damaged roads and washed away bridges, but also caused power and internet outages in the township nestled deep within mountains. And multiple rescue units consist of firefighters, armed police and volunteers had to walk into the disaster-hit areas.
As of Tuesday morning, 15 rescue units, with about 10 members in each, hiked through flooded areas to enter the 15 flood-isolated villages in Bamianshan as roads leading to the villages were severely damaged.
Currently, more than 200 residents have been relocated, with all of them well supplied. So far, 17 injured people in urgent need of medical treatment have been transferred and sent to hospitals.
Emergency rescue underway in flood-hit villages of Hunan Province
Grassroots officials and students who teamed up with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the voluntary tree planting activity in Beijing on Thursday morning said afterwards they would commit more energy to protecting their country's natural heritage and greening efforts.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, was accompanied by other Party and state leaders as they joined residents and local officials on the bank of the Yongding River in Beijing’s Fengtai District to plant saplings.
Xi waved to the crowd as he arrived at the site before picking up a shovel to help plant saplings of several different types of tree.
Xi took time to ask students from local schools about their studies, life and participation in labor and sports.
"We came here today to participate in this tree planting activity. What surprised us was that President Xi also took part. He worked alongside us, digging and building up the soil around the saplings. He has always been concerned about our lives and studies, and he encouraged us to work and study hard," said Lyu Shuochen, a student from the Fifth Primary School in Fengtai District.
"President Xi is very knowledgeable and understanding. He also encouraged us plant more trees to improve the air quality and the environment," said Gu Weichen, another student from the school.
During the event, Xi also talked with local grassroots officials, discussing the importance of preserving the nation's natural heritage.
"Every year, [the general secretary] takes part in the tree planting activity in the capital. He shovels the soil and waters the trees, which are truly touching. As environmental builders, we are determined to work together to make areas along the Yongding River greener and make the water clearer, so that local people can safely enjoy the riverside and truly understand the significance of ecological preservation," said Ding Hongwei, deputy director of the Fengtai District Yongding River Management Office.
"For us, participating in the tree planting activity with the general secretary is a vivid practical lesson in grassroots governance. Today, the general secretary also stressed that [environmental efforts should focus on] improving quality, boosting industry and benefiting the people. For us as community workers, it means we must deeply engage in the grassroots affairs. We need to strive for growth and do practical things to provide support for the residents and the people around us," said Qian Cheng, Party secretary of Tianlun Jincheng community in Beijing's Fengtai District.
"In addition to building the capital into a garden city, we also integrate the concept of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature into our daily life and work. We hope to create a better environment for everyone," said Lin Qiaoling, a Party committee member in Caoqiao Village, Yuquanying Subdistrict in Fengtai District.
Encouraged by Xi, the environmental champions at the site pledged to actively engage in public welfare activities, joining forces to contribute to the building of a Beautiful China and making the country even greener.
"President Xi told us while we were watering the saplings that watering the trees is like nurturing us children. I will follow what President Xi said. I want to become a teacher to educate and nurture others, and sow the seeds for them to grow their talents," said Wang Nanbixuan, another student from the school.
"As a primary school student in the capital, I am committed to planting more trees, working harder, and adding more green spaces to make our capital even more beautiful," said Chang Yuyang, another student from the school.
"With the personal involvement and leadership of the general secretary, the greening efforts in the capital will reach a new level, and citizens will be able to more directly enjoy the results of ecological civilization development," said Ding.
"As the general secretary said, we will continue working, one generation after another, to improve the greening efforts for the people, and contribute our own strength to ecological preservation in the capital and the whole country," said Lin.
Planting trees with President Xi inspires new generation of environmental champions
