At
least 1,800 people have been killed in severe flooding in China
this year, following a series of devastating typhoons and tropical
storms. Most recently, Typhoon Saomai – the worst to hit
China’s mainland in half a century – claimed more
than 200 lives and destroyed or damaged over 432,000 homes and
around 270,000 hectares of farmland in south-east China.
In early August, Typhoon Papiroon killed around 80 people, while
Tropical Storm Bilis left more than 600 dead in mid-July. The
International Federation’s Helena Laatio recently travelled
to Hunan Province, in southern China, to get a first-hand look
at Bilis’ destruction.
Approaching the beautiful Dong Jiang Lake, famous for boating
and fishing, you suddenly realize there is something terribly
wrong. Masses of driftwood and debris float along the shore,
power lines are down and there is water on the roads.
Looking around, there are large bare areas on the usually green
mountain sides. Hundreds of fallen trees lie like matchsticks
on the ground, partially covered by masses of red soil. These
are the scars left behind by the disastrous flash flooding caused
by Tropical Storm Bilis on 14 July.
The rain started at around 14:00 that Friday afternoon in Hejiashan
village in Zixing county. Bilis had already begun its deadly
journey across the area.
Ou Jiang Lin, a 41-year-old farmer, was at home with his wife
and 12-year-old son when the storm hit. The rain got heavier
and heavier towards midnight.
The small creek near his house swelled into a huge, fast flowing
river. The waters started to invade the house and by midnight,
Ou Jiang Lin’s home had collapsed. It was pitch-dark and
there was water everywhere. They barely managed to escape but
not everyone was so lucky.
It rained for 48 hours straight, dumping nearly half a meter
of water on the area in just two days.
There are 31 households in Hejiashan village – 15 families
lost their homes, and several other houses were badly damaged.
People in rural China often make their homes out of mud and
timber since they cannot afford stronger building materials.
But there is no way that such structures can withstand the type
of flash flooding caused by typhoons of this scale.
This year’s storms have been unusually frequent and powerful,
bringing renewed misery to rural families who are already struggling
to scrape by.
Losing your home is a tragedy, but for farmers, like Ou Jiang
Lin, the heartache doesn’t stop there. They also lost
their livelihoods when the flood waters brought huge amounts
of mud, sand and boulders to their rice fields, which were almost
ready to be harvested in July. The farmers in Hejiashan village
say large areas of their rice fields can never be used again.
Ou Jiang Li and his family, along with other villagers, are
now living in an empty factory building, formerly used for enriching
minerals. He carries with him two bundles of thin rope tied
around wooden sticks. He needs them to mark out a site for a
new house.
Finding the money for a new house is going to be difficult,
though. The government has promised to offer some financial
assistance but Ou Jiang Li will have to borrow the rest. Because
his relatives are also poor, Ou Jiang Li may be forced to move
to the city in search of factory work.
In general, factory workers earn between 800 and 900 RMB per
month, which works out to around $105 USD or € 85 per month.
A new home will cost roughly 40,000 RMB and Ou Jiang Li must
face other challenges, like the cold and snow that will arrive
in this mountainous region in November. In the meantime, new
typhoons are on the way but despite all of this, Ou Jiang Li
says he has faith in the future.
|
 |
 |
|
|
Flash
floods washed away Ou Jiang Lin's house in a matter of
seconds. This is where his home used to be. (p14486)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Nearly
all Ou Jiang Lin has left now are two bundles of rope.
Poor farmers in China's rural countryside are hardest
hit by the flooding. (p14485)
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Thousands
of villages, like Hejiashan, were devastated when Typhoon
Bilis hit China in mid-July. (p14484)
|
|
News
