Most affected are the rural cities, notably Zhuozhou, in Hebei Province. A city with more than 600,000 people, most of Zhouzhou’s streets and towns were submerged, with water levels reaching 6 to 10 feet. In some cases, the second floor of apartment buildings flooded, and most of the city lost power and water.
To reduce flooding in Beijing, officials redirected dams, waterways and reservoirs to push the flood into less populous Heibei. Residents in Hebei Province were angered that they were being sacrificed to save Beijing. This anger intensified when Hebei’s Party Secretary Ni Yuefeng said his province would act as a “moat” to save the capital. Zhuozhou has a population of 600,000, and the floods directly affected over 133,000 people from 146 villages. Because Beijing was flooding, many life-saving resources were also directed there, leaving Zhuozhou residents alone with the flooding for a few days.
On Aug. 13, a flash flood and landslide killed 24 people and left three missing in Weiziping village in Xi’an city. At least 900 households were affected, but only two homes were destroyed.
On Aug. 25, forecasters warned several provinces to expect torrential rain and flash floods over the next two days as unrelenting downpours continue. More than 3,000 people were evacuated last weekend as heavy rain lashed Sangzi, Shimen and Yongshun counties, and Zhangjiajie City.
On Thurs., Aug. 31, Guangdong Province raised an emergency response for typhoon and flood control. More than 460,000 people were evacuated to safety. A total of 64,000 rescue and repair personnel were placed on standby in seven cities across Guangdong to mitigate potential dangers from Typhoon Saola, the ninth typhoon this year, and Typhoon Haikui, the 11th typhoon this year.
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