On the evening of May 24, strong convective weather including hail and heavy rain appeared in Dingxi City, Gansu Province and other areas. After the hail in Min County under the jurisdiction of the city, the streets turned into ice rivers with ice accumulating several tens of centimeters deep. Vehicles were trapped, and some people used excavators to shovel the ice. Min County is a major producer of Angelica sinensis, and local residents lamented that the Angelica sinensis seedlings were killed by the hail, resulting in a loss of over ten thousand yuan.
From the evening of the 24th to the early morning of the 25th, Dingxi City in Gansu Province and its surrounding areas were suddenly hit by hail, heavy rain, and other severe convective weather. Some roads in Min County of Dingxi were covered with ice and accumulated water, causing internal flooding.
Residents of Min County told the Epoch Times on the 25th that there was heavy rain and hail on the night of the 24th. “The crops were destroyed by hail, the fields were flooded, and the vegetables were washed away by the water. Cars in the county town were washed away by the water.” They said, “Some houses are leaking, and houses with lower yards are flooded.”
The resident mentioned that now the water has receded, but the ground is covered in thick mud.
Videos circulating on the internet show that the streets of Min County are filled with white lumps of ice, turning the roads into ice rivers, with many vehicles stranded in the water unable to move.
Multiple residents of Min County told “Gaze News” that the water level in some areas reached knee-deep, with ice formations floating on the water. A shop owner said that some small cars stalled directly when entering the flooded areas.
Mr. Li, a resident, told “White Deer Video” that the water was up to his calves in his area, and in some parts of the urban area, the water was above the waist, with many residents’ courtyards filled with hail.
According to “Sichuan Observation,” the streets in the area turned into ice rivers with ice accumulation tens of centimeters deep, and some people used excavators to remove the ice.
Another resident told the Epoch Times reporter that the hail in some areas of Min County was very severe, while some places were not affected. He said that a landslide occurred on the road behind his house on the night of the 24th, causing quite a scare.
Min County is a major producer of Angelica sinensis, and the resident is worried that the price of medicinal materials will rise again this year. He said, with sorrow, that the Angelica sinensis seedlings were killed by the hail, causing significant losses.
“My Angelica sinensis seedlings were all killed by the hail, thirteen thousand yuan is gone, and people will starve this year,” he said. “I have three students at home, and their monthly living expenses are now a problem. Farmers are struggling, it’s too difficult.”
Public information shows that the main economic crops in Min County are medicinal herbs such as Angelica sinensis, Codonopsis, Astragalus, Red Peony, as well as 238 other species of wild Chinese medicinal herbs like rhubarb and fritillaria.