Post-flood recovery efforts continue in Guizhou

People in Rongjiang and Congjiang, two riverside counties in southwest China's Guizhou Province, are continuing to deal with the aftermath of severe flooding, after persistent downpours caused multiple local rivers to burst their banks and wreaked havoc on residential communities on Tuesday.

As of 14:30 on Tuesday, 48,900 people and 32,000 people had been temporarily evacuated in Rongjiang and Congjiang, respectively, and a highest-level flood control emergency response was activated in both counties, which are under the administration of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture.

As the floodwaters started to recede on Wednesday, locals in the two counties started to pick up the pieces, with the efforts focused on clearing up slit and debris, draining water from low-lying areas, restoring power supplies, preventing water-borne diseases, and providing shelters to the evacuees before their homes are deemed safe for living.

In Rongjiang County, people scrambled to pump water out of underground parking lots, shopping areas and other public places in the densely populated old urban district, while crews and large machinery were also brought in to remove slit from a seriously flooded local football field, on Wednesday afternoon. 。

Meanwhile in Congjiang, crews from several other counties in Qiandongnan have joined in the local efforts to repair the damaged power systems in some low-lying areas.

Teams consisting of soldiers and volunteers are also working on restoring road traffic by clearing up slit, tree branches and other debris, while a dedicated crew is carrying out disinfection work to prevent the spread of diseases.

The county's major markets are now back in business and large stores in the urban area are well stocked with daily necessities.

"We are able to source meat products as usual since the local slaughterhouses are in normal operations. The meat prices have remained stable like they did before the flood," He Qilin, a vendor at a local farmers' market, told China Central Television (CCTV) in an interview on Thursday.

Post-flood recovery efforts continue in Guizhou

Russia said on Monday that its armed forces had captured another settlement in the Kharkiv region, while Ukraine reported striking Russian targets and power outages following Russian attacks.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in its latest report that over the past 24 hours, Russian forces struck 142 areas, including facilities used to transport Western-supplied weapons, as well as ammunition and fuel depots, and temporary deployment sites of Ukrainian forces and foreign mercenaries.

It said Russian forces also destroyed Ukrainian armored vehicles, various types of artillery and other military vehicles, while air defense units shot down 76 Ukrainian drones.

In addition, the ministry said Russian forces had taken control of the settlement of Vilcha in the Kharkiv region.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on the same day that 223 combat engagements took place over the past 24 hours.

The Ukrainian Air Force, together with missile units and artillery, struck Russian personnel concentration areas and one key target.

The Ukrainian side said its forces repelled the Russian army's attacks in the directions of Kursk, Kupyansk, Lyman, and Pokrovsk.

Russian forces launched air strikes on power facilities in Odesa region, Zaporizhzhia region, Dnipropetrovsk region and Donetsk region in the early hours of Monday, according to Ukrainian media reports.

As of Monday morning, some areas in those regions were experiencing power outages.

Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK Group, said Russian forces attacked two of its power facilities in the Odesa region in the early hours of Monday, causing severe damage.

The company said repairs would take time, adding that continued air raid sirens have complicated the work. Technicians are working to restore key facilities and power supplies as soon as possible.

The Russian side has not commented on the attacks.

Russia captures one more settlement in Kharkiv, Ukraine reports power outages from Russian attacks