The small county of Rongjiang in Guizhou Province, where the “village tyrant” trend has been dominating the internet, has recently hit the hot search list again. This time, it is due to the county town being hit by two floods, leaving the whole town in a mess and suffering heavy losses. Recently, a victim of the floods shared their experience with a reporter from Dajiyuan.
Rongjiang County town is located in a low-lying dam area, where the Douliu River, Zhaihao River, and Pingyong River converge. The initial heavy rain hit on June 21, causing partial road collapses and house flooding. The most severe flood occurred in the early morning of June 24. People woke up from their sleep to see a “country of water.”
At that time, 80% of the entire county town area was submerged. Muddy water filled the marketplaces and garages, vehicles were washed away, and old houses were destroyed.
Jiang Hao (pseudonym) and his family of four run a tobacco and liquor store on the ring road in the county. Around 9 a.m. on June 24, he saw water flooding outside the store and quickly moved the goods from the first floor to the second floor. However, he realized the water was rising rapidly and there was no time to move everything, so he grabbed the property certificate and fled with his family in a car.
He said the water didn’t rush in all at once, but it was quite fierce. Unable to move their belongings in time, he described, “It rose quickly. I saw the water rising up to almost half of the tires of a car seven or eight meters in front of me within five or six minutes.” Seeing this, he quickly rushed out and drove to a highway.
He parked his car on the county road, spending the night on the highway. Many villagers were fleeing in their cars, and there was a queue of vehicles for over ten kilometers on the road. Jiang Hao mentioned that some people evacuated to higher ground on the hillside, while others sought refuge at Rongjiang No.2 Middle School and Nationality Middle School. He and his family stayed in the car for a night, then after the water receded the next day, he sent his mother and son to his sister’s place. He kept staying in the car overnight, eating at different friends’ houses or receiving boxed meals at relief stations.
After escaping on the 24th, although the water receded, they couldn’t return home because all the roads in the county town were blocked, prohibiting private cars from entering. Another flood came on the 28th, and it wasn’t until the 30th that he could return home.
He described to the reporter that the entire county town was in ruins with mud and garbage everywhere, emitting a foul smell due to the hot weather. Upon returning home, he found the house empty, with all appliances and furniture washed away, mud covering everything, and a glass liquor cabinet in the mud.
Jiang Hao mentioned that the buildings near the riverbank were mostly submerged up to the third floor, especially the Changba Street area suffered the most. The flood on the 24th was severe, with slow receding waters. By the 28th, those meant to be submerged had been submerged, and what needed to be washed away was washed away. Additionally, the water receded quickly the second time, so the first flood caused more severe damage.
He also stated that this was the first time, at the age of 40, that he had experienced such a severe flood. “The losses are immeasurable, at least several billion. Physical stores on the old city side are all gone. Vehicles priced at one or two thousand were washed away, and the biggest supermarket in Rongjiang should have lost a minimum of fifteen million yuan.” He revealed his own losses amounting to tens of thousands of yuan, and his three-story house had become unsafe, questioning if the government had any discounted policies for rebuilding homes.
The official report on the flood stated 6 casualties, but Jiang Hao claimed that locals said 13 people died, with 2 missing. However, one person spreading this news was already arrested, and currently, no one dares to mention the specific casualty numbers.