The main roads damaged by rain-related flooding in the northeastern Chinese city of Huludao have been partially reopened after clean-up work by local rescue workers.
Heavy rains began hitting the city on Monday, causing flash floods and disrupting traffic, communications and power supplies in counties such as Jianchang.
The heaviest rainfall occurred in Jianchang County and surrounding areas, with the maximum rainfall reaching 534.7 mm, exceeding historical records for the region.
More than 7,000 people have been evacuated to safe locations and emergency teams, including firefighters and police, are racing against time to rescue those trapped.
In the worst-affected community of Heishanke, several roads were washed away and a bridge was severely damaged by the heavy rain.
A firefighting team was dispatched on Thursday to the worst-affected village in the municipality, which administers nine villages with a total population of over 9,000.
Residents of Yangshudixia village suffered from shortages of drinking water and food, and flooding caused traffic disruptions and power outages.
“Yangshudixia Village and even the entire area of Heishanke Township were hit by severe flooding. The floodwaters rushed over so fast that we had to evacuate all villagers to higher ground and wait for the floodwaters to recede. Now our priority is to clean roads, remove mud and provide emergency supplies to the affected people so that they can resume their normal work and life as soon as possible,” said Cheng Bo, head of the Chaoyang Road Fire Station at the Huludao Fire and Rescue Department.
Rescue workers helped evacuate 52 villagers that day, distributed 222 relief supplies and delivered 350 tons of drinking water to the community.
Meanwhile, road repair work is underway on National Highway 306, which connects Jianchang and Suizhong counties, after the road damage and landslides prompted the local traffic authority to launch emergency repairs and build temporary roads to facilitate the passage of emergency vehicles. Some roads have already been opened to one-way traffic.
Leijiadian, another township in Jianchang, was also badly hit by recent heavy rains, causing numerous road blockages and hampering rescue efforts in villages.
Thanks to the round-the-clock repair work, most villages were accessible by road again as of Thursday evening. Emergency vehicles and relief supplies were able to arrive and villagers were able to travel normally again.
“Now that the roads are open, villagers can return home, including those who are staying with relatives and friends. This is very good,” said Yang Lixia, party secretary of Dasongmugou village.
After traffic between the municipality and the county resumed, aid shipments began to arrive. So far, villagers have received emergency supplies such as food and drinking water.
“Currently, Leijiadian is still without electricity. The power supply department has provided us with a mobile emergency power supply vehicle that can operate 24 hours a day,” said Tian Lu, deputy head of Leijiadian township.
According to the Flood Control and Drought Relief Center, Jianchang County had received around 50,000 relief supplies by Thursday.
Traffic in the northeastern city affected by the rainstorm is partially resuming due to repair work
After heavy rainstorms caused devastating damage in the city of Huludao in northeast China’s Liaoning province, work to restore basic infrastructure is in full swing.
Authorities are working together to restore electricity, water, communications and transportation networks in Jianchang and Suizhong counties, the worst-hit regions after recent torrential rains disrupted basic services and forced thousands of people to evacuate.
In Datun Township, Jianchang County, the local power company used helicopters to drop equipment into villages cut off from the road, ensuring a smooth power restoration process.
So far, 44 of the 48 damaged 10 kV power lines have been restored, and the remaining four lines are under urgent repair.
The heavy rains also damaged the water pipeline in Jianchang County. After 19 hours of continuous efforts, the water supply in the county’s urban area was largely back to normal on Friday morning.
As of Friday afternoon, six main roads and 16 rural roads in Jianchang County have been reopened, while emergency repairs are still being carried out on the remaining roads.
More than 50,000 relief supplies from Liaoning Province and other countries have been delivered to the county’s disaster areas.
In Suizhong County, most of the damaged transportation, power and other infrastructure facilities in the affected communities have been restored, but repairs to water and communication facilities are still ongoing.
China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, said on Thursday it had allocated 200 million yuan (about $28 million) from the central budget to support disaster relief and reconstruction efforts in the flood-hit northeastern provinces of Liaoning and Jilin.
According to the Commission, the funds will be used for the emergency restoration of flood-affected or damaged dykes, road traffic, schools and hospitals in the two provinces.
Coordinated efforts to restore infrastructure in rain-damaged Huludao underway
