Local residents and volunteers from other parts of China have been helping to collect and distribute supplies in flood-hit Rongjiang County in southwest China's mountainous Guizhou Province.
Heavy rainstorms triggered severe flooding in Rongjiang, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture last week. After flooded roads were reopened to traffic, supplies including daily necessities, rescue goods and epidemic prevention materials donated by people from all over the country have been pouring into the county.
Rongjiang Vocational School is the largest supply distribution point set up in the county following the flood, and is where materials are registered and classified before being transported to resettlement sites where people have moved following flooding in their home towns and villages.
"We donated approximately 14,000 packs of bottled water in total. When I arrived here, I found that the overall situation was still quite severe. We will continue to provide support if there is a need," said volunteer Huang Bibo.
After learning about the flood disaster, Peng Bin, a farmer from neighboring Sichuan Province, picked a truckload of watermelons from his field and drove all day to Rongjiang to offer the fresh fruits to the relief workers for free.
"The responders on the front line are working so hard and are really tired. Look, they are all covered in mud. I just wanted to express my sympathy with them," he said.
Since June 24, more than 150 volunteers have been working at the distribution point each day to load relief supplies onto vehicles to be transported to affected residents.
"It's my fourth day here. I previously helped out at a resettlement site at No. 2 Junior Middle School and then I came here. Because I knew that there was a great need for manpower here, I came especially to help," said Zhang Jingkun, a volunteer from south China's Guangdong Province.
"We mainly carry water here and also distribute water to people who came to collect daily necessities. I myself am also from Qiandongnan. We are all from sister counties and cities. When one is in trouble, people from other places will come to help," said Chen Dan, a volunteer from Danzhai County.
Rongjiang County is widely known as the birthplace of the Village Super League, or Cun Chao - a rural football league comprising 100 amateur, village teams and captivating fans nationwide.
Xia Wentao, a sports enthusiast from Guangdong's Shenzhen City, rented a house in Rongjiang to be close to the Cun Chao action. However, when the sudden flood hit, he became trapped on Changba Street and had to be rescued.
After surviving the disaster, he didn't return to his hometown but instead chose to stay in Rongjiang as a volunteer, receiving and delivering supplies at the material distribution point.
"I'm currently doing these two things here. I help receive donations from all sectors of society. I felt very heartbroken seeing such a scene, but what they did moved me so much. I think all people here are striving together with one mind, and we will surely defeat the flood. After the Cun Chao stadium is rebuilt, we will welcome friends from all over the world to cheer together," said Xia.
In addition to two large-scale centralized distribution points, 20 temporary material collection points have also been set up across Rongjiang County, covering all communities.
Meanwhile, seven unmanned aerial vehicles have joined the delivery efforts to ensure the basic living needs of affected people.
Volunteers help distribute relief supplies in flood-hit county of China
