Due to the impact of Typhoon “Shadel” and other factors, some areas in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, including Ruian, have accumulated over 300 millimeters of rainfall. The heavy rain has caused severe urban flooding, with multiple shoe factories inundated. Shoe boxes and finished shoes have drifted along the streets in the floodwaters, with many residents wading in to retrieve the shoes. Locals have expressed that the local shoe manufacturing industry has suffered significant losses.
On September 2nd, a netizen from Zhang’ao, Ruian, Zhejiang, posted a video on social media, saying, “People elsewhere are fishing in the flooded water, while we are fishing for shoes here.”
The video footage shows heavy rainfall in the area, with streets flooded and water levels reaching above the knees of some residents. The murky floodwaters are filled with numerous green shoe boxes and a variety of finished shoes. Many citizens are seen carrying umbrellas, wading through deep water, and picking up shoes washed up on the roadside.
According to a report from “Qilu Evening News, Qilu News Point”, on the evening of September 2nd, an employee of a supermarket near Xianjiang Street in Ruian introduced that the heavy rain led to flooding in multiple nearby shoe factories. Shoes from the factories were washed out and floated in the flooded streets. “Hundreds of boxes were washed away, the loss should be around one to two hundred thousand yuan (RMB).” The employee mentioned that many shoes scattered on the streets were picked up by passing residents.
A shop owner along the street expressed, “Our area is an industrial zone for shoe production,” highlighting the significant impact of the heavy rain on the factory area. Currently, the local rainfall is still ongoing, with standing water on the roads yet to recede, and many sections still visibly flooded.
A Weibo member with an IP address from Zhejiang, “Little Chen’s Miscellaneous Store,” posted that many citizens are picking up shoes in the flooded water. With massive losses due to the flooding of factory goods, many shoe factory owners have seen their hard-earned stocked inventory soaked and destroyed overnight.
One shoe factory in the area was flooded, prompting the owner to start a live broadcast selling shoes in the floodwaters. The live stream attracted up to 20,000 viewers simultaneously, with netizens joking that the resilient people of Wenzhou continue live streaming even in such situations.
Some netizens praised the entrepreneurial spirit of the people in Wenzhou for persevering in adversity.
However, some expressed concerns, questioning how the shoes would be delivered if they were sold and what would happen if warehouses were flooded and shipments could not be made.
According to reports, influenced by the eastward airflow, from 8:00 on September 1st to 15:00 on September 2nd, Wenzhou City experienced a total rainfall of 217.9 millimeters. The top three cities in terms of cumulative rainfall at the county level were Ruian, Cangnan, and Pingyang, all exceeding 300 millimeters. Ruian, Cangnan, and other areas have witnessed widespread flooding and urban inundation.