Local officials of Shimen Village in east China's Zhejiang Province took the lead in carrying out emergency rescue after flash flood brought by Typhoon Dolphin.
Typhoon Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of the year, made two landfalls in Zhejiang on Sunday. Impacted by the powerful typhoon, Shimen Village suffered torrential rain on Monday. The rising water level has caused waterlogging in many residential houses.
In face of the emergency, local officials took swift responses right away by rescuing and helping villagers.
"Now, we are busy dredging as the mud will stick on the tarred road after a while. Therefore, we need to clean it as quickly as possible," said Wang Wencai, Shimen Village's Party secretary.
Apart from mud cleaning, the homes of some villagers need draining as they were flooded. These houses are less than 10 meters from the river. The rising water rushed directly into the buildings.
Wang, along with other local officials tried their best to clear the floodwater as quickly as they could.
"My husband and I simply couldn't handle all these -- we couldn't possibly clear the mud. Then the officials in the village offered to help," said Fu Wenlian, a villager.
Wang also helped to coordinate other relief arrangements, such as rescuers, vehicles and supplies.
"We haven't had any proper sleep for three days. Basically, we just lie on the desk for a while. We have been staying in the village this entire time. Since the flood situation is quite severe, we need to resolve issues reported by the villagers in a timely manner," Wang said.
Village officials take lead in disaster relief after typhoon-triggered flood
