Recently, heavy rain has been falling continuously in Lixian County, Hunan Province, with mud and water rushing into villages and submerging them in an instant. A woman who owns a restaurant in the area shouted hoarsely to remind people: “Hurry up and leave!”
At 6 a.m. on June 30, the Hunan Provincial Meteorological Observatory issued a red alert for heavy rain: it is expected that from 8 a.m. on the same day to 8 a.m. on July 1, parts of Changsha, northern Zhuzhou, Xiangtan, northwestern Hengyang, Shaoyang, southern Yueyang, southern Yiyang, Huaihua, and parts of Loudi will experience heavy rain, with some areas seeing very heavy rain and even localized torrential rain, accompanied by short-term heavy precipitation, thunderstorms, and strong convective weather.
At 6 a.m. on the 29th, the Hunan Provincial Meteorological Observatory issued the first red alert for heavy rain this year for the entire province: it is expected that from 8 a.m. on the same day to 8 a.m. on the 30th, parts of Changsha, northern Xiangtan, western Shaoyang, Yueyang, southern Changde, Yiyang, Huaihua, Loudi, and southern Xiangxi Prefecture will experience heavy rain, with some areas seeing very heavy rain and even localized torrential rain, accompanied by short-term heavy precipitation, thunderstorms, and strong convective weather.
On that day, in a village in Lixian County, Changde, Hunan, heavy rain poured down, mixing with mud and stones to form raging torrents that flooded the entire village downstream along the hillsides and village roads.
The once flat roads turned into swift-flowing rivers. Furniture, food, and other items floated in the water, threatening the lives and property of the villagers.
A video footage showed a female restaurant owner standing at a high point, facing the rushing floodwaters, shouting hoarsely: “Hurry up and leave! Hurry up and leave!”
She repeated this phrase continuously, urging passersby to seek shelter as soon as possible, her voice already hoarse.
In response to this, mainland Chinese netizens have expressed support for the female restaurant owner, with comments such as: “Thumbs up for such a boss lady!” “Floods every year, people retreat as the water advances everywhere on artificially cemented ground…”, “Southern China is flooded, while the north is drying up. Shandong and Henan are praying for rain on their knees.” “My family said that four households near the border between Guizhou and Hunan were submerged by a landslide at four in the morning…”
These events serve as a stark reminder of the challenges and dangers posed by natural disasters and the importance of preparedness and cooperation in facing them.