Authorities are racing to rebuild the flood-ravaged Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in north China following recent heavy rains, reopening roads, restoring power and water, as displaced villagers stream back to salvage and reconstruct their homes.
Heavy rainfall lashed Beijing's Miyun, Huairou, and Yanqing districts from last Saturday night through Sunday morning, triggering emergency flood response measures.
Electricity and communications have been fully restored to every storm-hit administrative village and water supply has been resumed. Every previously cut-off village has re-established communication and search-and-rescue sweeps are still under way.
Across the city, reconstruction is accelerating. In Pinggu District, more than 130 task forces, made up of grassroots Communist Party of China (CPC) branches, officials and volunteers, continue to dredge rivers, disinfect flood-damaged homes, and check gas lines.
"We will fully implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi, ensure the safety and proper resettlement of the people, and keep pushing forward with all efforts to restore production and daily life. So far, more than 3,000 villagers from our town have already returned home from shelters and have begun rebuilding their homes," said Wang Jianjun, Party secretary of Zhenluoying Town, Pinggu District.
After days of round-the-clock work, all flood-damaged highways in Hebei Province reopened to traffic on Saturday.
In badly-hit Liudaohe Town, Xinglong County, disinfection teams began large-scale spraying as transport and communications returned to normal.
To help residents still in temporary shelters, 15 medical teams have been dispatched to provide on-site treatment.
In Jizhou District of Tianjin Municipality, crews are rushing to restore living conditions and have started detailed damage assessments. Over the past two days, survey teams have gone to villages to record losses household by household to lay the groundwork for reconstruction.
The weather service in those regions forecast further imminent inclement weather conditions. Beijing issued a blue alert for heavy rain on Saturday afternoon. From Saturday evening through Sunday, downpours are expected in its northern and western mountains.
Huairou and Miyun districts escalated their alerts to orange. Extra patrols have been sent to key locations to check for possible risks.
Hebei also issued a blue alert for rainstorms. From Saturday until Sunday morning, parts of central and northern Hebei may see torrential rain.
Meanwhile, local authorities are beefing up evacuation and resettlement efforts.
According to the National Financial Regulatory Administration, insurers in nine provinces and regions, namely Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Jilin, Tianjin, Guangdong, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, have received 65,000 claims related to the rain, with estimated losses of 1.88 billion yuan (more than 261 million U.S. dollars).
They have disbursed 520 million yuan (more than 72 million U.S. dollars) (including advance payments) of insurance compensation so far.
Relief, reconstruction efforts gather pace in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region after torrential rains
