Local authorities in Ji'an City, in east China's Jiangxi Province, have launched a full emergency response following severe torrential rains which wreaked havoc across the city. Emergency personnel are conducting highway repairs, mass evacuation and resettlement, flood dredging and comprehensive post-disaster disinfection to restore public safety and normal social order.
Debris clearance has been underway around the clock at a tunnel exit on the Ji'an-Ganzhou section of the Daqing-Guangzhou Expressway, which was hit by a landslide during the heavy downpours. Highway maintenance crews have deployed excavators, bulldozers and other machinery to restore the tunnel and eliminate potential safety hazards.
"This is the worst-hit collapse site on the expressway, with mud and silt completely covering the entire road surface. Over ten sets of equipment have worked non-stop for a full day and night. At present, most silt on the traffic lanes has been cleared, and we are carrying out excavation unloading to prevent secondary collapses," said Guo Fei, a highway maintenance worker.
By Monday morning, 31 damaged areas had been found on the closed road section, with around 20,000 cubic meters of debris falling on the road. More than 540 emergency rescuers and over 240 sets of emergency equipment have been deployed to clean up and restore the road.
Apart from traffic disruptions, the continuous rainstorms and landslides have also threatened residents in Suichuan County, Ji'an City, forcing the evacuation and resettlement of over 10,000 people. Several centralized resettlement sites stocked with daily supplies and comprehensive support services have been set up to accommodate displaced residents.
In rain-battered Taihe County of Ji'an City, large areas of which were flooded, post-disaster sanitation and epidemic prevention work has been carried out to prevent secondary public health risks.
In Heshi Town, local residents and workers have joined hands in post-flood clean-up efforts. Equipped with shovels and brooms, they removed silt, garbage and debris from major roads, drainage ditches and residential areas. Key locations across the town have been thoroughly sprayed with disinfectant.
"We have coordinated the allocation and distribution of disinfection materials and ensured the supply of drinking water and environmental disinfection materials across all towns and villages," noted Liu Xiaoli, a staff member at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Taihe County.
Elsewhere in Jiangxi, local authorities in Jinggangshan City have also been removing silt and debris to allow residents to resume their normal lives following the torrential downpours.
Post‑disaster work underway in Jiangxi after torrential rains
