Xinxiang Villagers remain stalwart during flood rescue
Beiguan and Dongguan are two villages in the worst affected part of Xinxiang, Henan Province. The rain hasn’t stopped since July 20. Locals said the last such damage was more than 20 years ago.
The streets in Beiguan are now rivers. All photos by Cai Xingzhuo
By CAI Xingzhuo
Editor's note:
Beiguan and Dongguan are two villages in the worst affected part of Xinxiang, Henan Province. The rain hasn’t stopped since July 20. Locals said the last such damage was more than 20 years ago.
Beiguan has a population of roughly 3,000, but only one old small rowboat boat that can only carry 10 people at a time. By press time, rescue teams had arrived in Beiguan and Dongguan. Hundreds have been evacuated, but more are still stranded.
A stranded resident holds onto a street statue in Beiguan as the water flows past. An anxious woman takes in the disaster.A rescuer wades into the flood.Rescuers in Chengjiao, a small town near Xinxiang, drag a rubber dinghy through the flood. The boat is useless in water of less than a meter.The rescuers sitting on their boat in Beiguan. Five hours after their arrival, they had rescued more than 60 people.Not exactly shipshape, but the rescue boat is doing its job.Excavators pick up villagers in Beiguan.Two villagers on a tube trip to safety in Beiguan are towed away by a rescue vessel. An umbrella is left behind after the family is rescued.A Beiguan toddler has a lot more fun than his family as he floats regally along in a cool box.Beiguan, muddy water covers almost every floor.A rescue boat picks up its latest cargo in Beiguan.Beiguan villagers wait for rescue.In Dongguan, rescuers have their lunch. Parttime volunteers have training sessions three or four times a year.Villagers in Dongguan contemplate the deluge.
