Emergency response measures have been launched and relief work is ongoing after a deadly bout of torrential rain lashed a rural county in central China's Hunan Province, with rescuers rushing to reach vulnerable residents and volunteers preparing food for the affected communities.
The extreme weather has resulted in six deaths and left 10 people missing in the Shimen County of Changde City as of Thursday morning, according to Changde's municipal emergency management bureau.
The heavy rainfall began early on Sunday and pummeled the area for several days, affecting more than 20 townships to varying degrees.
Though the deluge stopped on Wednesday, the impact of landslides and mudslides left many village roads damaged or completely cut off, forcing rescuers to search for trapped villagers on foot.
A group of rescuers found two elderly people stuck in the remote Gulouping Village, one of whom had difficulty moving. After an eight-hour trek across challenging and rugged terrain, the senior resident was eventually transferred to a safe area on a stretcher.
A total of six people had been evacuated from the village as of Wednesday, with nine more still reportedly requiring rescue. Emergency helicopters have been urgently deployed to the area, and the transfer of the remaining people is expected to be completed on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the county's Hupingshan Township, one of the hardest-hit areas, has set up five emergency dining points, where volunteers are working to provide free meals to disaster-stricken residents and rescue team members.
Emergency rescue, relief work underway after heavy rain lashes rural Hunan county
The Shenzhou-23 crewed space mission conducted its last comprehensive practice before launch on Friday, completing function checks of all systems and other preparation work.
The combination of the spaceship and a Long March-2F carrier rocket was transported to the launch site last Saturday and is scheduled for launch in the coming days, with all facilities and equipment at the launch site in good condition, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
Carried out by the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Xi'an Satellite Control Center, and various control stations under the coordination of the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, the drill simulated all stages of the launch mission, including pre-launch preparations, liftoff, climb, and the in-orbit phase.
"The joint practice is to test the system's communication links, command capability, equipment, and personnel. Based on the current progress, everything is normal. What's going on in parallel is a full-system gas leak detection," He said.
The rehearsal validated the reliability of key systems, including the rocket, the spaceship, the launch site, the control and communication equipment, and the coordination between different systems. It also verified the functionality and technical status of the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft-rocket combination.
"The Shenzhou-23 spaceship is in the third batch of spacecraft after the completion of the construction of the space station. It incorporates many new quality control measures, and its payload transport capacity, reliability, and safety have all been significantly improved," said Li Zhe, an employee of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
With all facilities in good condition, the Jiuquan launch site will later conduct rocket propellant filling and launch operations.
Search and recovery drills are also underway at the landing site, in preparation for the return of the Shenzhou-21 crew.
Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship ready for launch
