Last month, Hunan Zixing was hit by a major rainstorm disaster due to the influence of Typhoon “Gemai”. Over 20 days after the incident, on August 19, Hunan Chenzhou announced that 50 people have died and 15 are missing, sparking condemnation from netizens.
According to the report from Chenzhou, from July 26 to 30, the extreme heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon “Gemai” caused 19,513 landslides in Zixing City, with 45,629 collapses, power outages affecting 66,793 households in 149 villages, 1,896 road interruptions in 152 villages, communication disruptions in 78 villages, 1,869 houses collapsed in 1,714 households, affecting a total of 128,000 people.
The report also stated that as of 9 p.m. on the 19th, it had been confirmed that 50 villagers from 26 villages in 5 townships of Zixing City have died, with 15 still missing.
The official information released by the Communist Party has drawn condemnation from netizens: “This is so heartbreaking! So many deaths from just a rainstorm!” “With modern conditions, how did 50 people die like this? How intense was the rain, and where was the government?” “Why is there no sense of urgency? I didn’t even know about this.” “…This didn’t make it to the trending list, so many lives lost so abruptly.” “Was there no weather forecast? No pre-evacuation plan? What is the reason behind this! Real lives lost!”
“Unbelievable, we’re only finding out about this now, from July. I have no words.” “The buzz has died down, now you come out and leak some information.” “If a media outlet lacks real-time updates, what’s the point of doing news!” “News about casualties caused by natural disasters also needs extensive screening before being released.” “Secrecy is one thing.” “It’s too terrifying, I’m talking about a certain party’s control over information.”
Some netizens even remarked that the published numbers are only “figures that can be disclosed”.