Beijing, 8 Aug (Zhongxin Net) -- The rain in Beijing has finally gradually stopped, and the sultry and humid atmosphere in the air has not dissipated for the time being. "At that time, the maximum water level of the flood was about halfway to the pole, and the waterline can still be clearly seen." Yang Guohua, secretary of the party branch of Shangwan Village in Qinglonghu Town, Fangshan District, Beijing, told reporters.

In Qinglonghu Town, where the floodwaters receded, the water lines on the telephone poles were clearly visible. Photo by Song Yusheng

On the afternoon of the 1st, the reporter came to Qinglonghu Town, where the floodwaters had receded. After the heavy rains, tens of thousands of villages were covered with silt, and the air appeared exceptionally humid. The main road in the village was hit by floodwaters, and houses on both sides were damaged, and many vehicles were washed into the river. According to government staff in Qinglonghu Town, most of the people in the town have been transferred to resettlement sites, local cadres are organizing dredging, and villagers are also helping themselves.

After the flood, many vehicles were washed away in a section of Qinglonghu town. Photo by Wei Xianghui

Two days earlier, on July 7, heavy rainfall in Beijing caused flash floods that affected many villages in Qinglonghu Township.

Liu Bin, deputy commander of the Beijing Municipal Flood Control and Drought Control Headquarters and deputy director of the Beijing Emergency Management Bureau, said in an interview with the media that the average rainfall in Beijing on July 7 had reached the level of "July 31", especially the average rainfall in Fangshan District and the average rainfall in Mentougou District exceeded 7 mm, far higher than "July 21".

"July 7" is already the "limit" of rainfall in Beijing in the memory of most locals. In 21, the "July 2012 Beijing Heavy Rainstorm", the total precipitation was the largest in Fangshan, Beijing, 7 mm.

However, according to data shown to reporters by local cadres, in the days before and after July 7, precipitation at some observation points in Fangshan, Beijing, exceeded the "extreme value" of 31 years ago.

In addition, more than one observation has blank data. Local officials explained that this was because the observation sites were "washed away and no data could be obtained."

Unfortunately, many local villagers evacuated to resettlement sites before torrential rains formed flash floods.

At 7:28 p.m. on July 7, the Qinglonghu Town Government held a meeting on flood control work, and early on the morning of July 29, the village began to deploy response work, and then investigated the first risk households and focused on personnel transfer.

"When the transfer of people was arranged, it was already raining, but at that time, everyone did not expect it to rain so much." Bruce Lee, director of propaganda in Qinglonghu Town, recalled the situation at that time and said bluntly, fortunately the evacuation was timely and there were no casualties in the town.

Villagers are dredging. Photo by Wei Xianghui

But in fact, persuading villagers to move before danger strikes is not easy, even when a red rainstorm warning has been issued.

"Some villagers will think, '7/21' rain is so heavy, the house at home is fine. How much bigger can it be than '7/21' this time? Yang Guohua told reporters that at that time, there were still some villagers who were reluctant to leave their homes and go to the resettlement site, believing that the rainfall this time would not exceed "7.21".

A villager who did not evacuate in time told reporters that the house was flooded at that time, "probably more than 2 meters high."

The torrential rain kept falling, and Yang Guohua realized that he had to move all the people away. "Repeatedly called the villagers and repeatedly went into the house to find out. We braved heavy rain to enter the house to rescue him. She took 21 village committee staff, 30 volunteers and 10 taxi drivers to the mass transfer work.

A similar situation has occurred in several villages in Qinglonghu Township.

In Beicheying Village, about 3 kilometers from Shangwan Village, on July 7, a family of three was trapped in a torrential rain. At the critical moment, Liu Bing, a villager in Beicheying Village, braved the rain to drive a shovel truck upstream and used a bucket to transport two adults and a child to safety.

This scene was then recorded by the locals involved in the rescue and became a hot spot on the Internet. Netizens found that this is not the first time Liu Bing has participated in rescue operations after the rainstorm, he drove a forklift to participate in the evacuation of trapped people during the "July 2012" rainstorm in 7.

Later, in an interview with the media, Liu Bing said, "At that time, I saw the family of three standing on the roof of the house calling for help, and I saw that the wall was about to be washed down, so I rushed to rescue them first." ”

On August 8, the reporter met Liu Bing again, who had already cleaned up the dredging with everyone in the village. And for this rescue of people, he is not willing to say more.

Villagers drive shovels to dredge on August 8. Photo by Wei Xianghui

"In that case, you can only drive a forklift to the rescue." Local cadres told reporters that in fact, there are many similar situations in villages and towns that drive forklifts to save people, and everyone just saw the content of the report.

Many villagers with shovels in tens of thousands of villages have taken the initiative to join the rescue team.

On July 7, 31 personnel were trapped at a junior military academy base (summer camp) in Qinglonghu Township. After learning of this situation, the villagers who could afford it mobilized to save people. "Many of them are our ordinary people, braving heavy rain and driving shovels to save people." Yang Guohua said.

Local villagers have been organized to dredge roads. Photo by Song Yusheng

When the reporter entered the village to interview, the local area had already organized the villagers to carry out road dredging.

At 8:2 on August 7, the Beijing Meteorological Observatory lifted the yellow warning signal for heavy rain. As the floodwaters receded, everything was gradually recovering. "Take it slowly, step by step, as long as the person is okay." One villager said. (End)