Communications, water supply and road access have been basically restored in Yuzhong County, northwest China's Gansu Province, after mountain torrents triggered by days of heavy rainfall caused severe damage to local infrastructure last week.
As of 16:00 on Sunday, public communications facilities in the county had basically resumed operations and were functioning smoothly, according to local authorities.
After nearly 200 technicians were mobilized to carry out round-the-clock repairs, the last flood-damaged blockage in the Xinglongshan Village section of provincial highway S104 was cleared on Sunday, allowing the entire route to reopen in both directions.
To date, rescue roads leading in three directions to the worst-hit areas are now all accessible.
Moreover, temporary pipelines have been set up at the four damaged sections of the water pipelines in the county, enabling some townships to resume daily water supply. In areas still without running water, people can get bottled water at relocation sites.
"These are all temporary measures. As water pressure remains low, we are still unable to supply sufficient water in some high-lying areas. A permanent solution will require more work. We had discussions with the design team yesterday, and decided to use directional drilling to resolve the river-crossing pipeline problem once and for all," said Wang Dong, deputy general manager of Gansu Water Investment Group.
On Sunday, local grid workers began restoring power lines in some worst-affected areas.
"We have fully engaged in restoring and rebuilding the damaged power grid, deploying repair materials, and trying to restore electricity supply to 42 temporarily connected remote lines and substations within a week," said Zhao Ruoyu, general manager of State Grid Lanzhou Electric Power Company.
Relief distribution is also underway, with the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration sending out around 10,000 pieces of emergency supplies, including folding beds, cotton quilts and household lamps. In places where roads remain impassable, drones are used to airdrop relief goods.
Mountain torrents in Yuzhong County, Gansu Province, had left 13 dead and 30 missing as of noon on Saturday, provincial emergency authorities said.
Communications, water supply mostly restored in flood-hit Gansu county
