Post-flooding work ensures residents live in comfort

Continuous efforts have been made in reconstruction work in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province after severe rainstorms and flooding affected the area in late July and early August.

The work is aimed at ensuring that local residents live in comfort and that their homes remain heated during the winter.

In Zhaowang, a village in Zhuozhou, Hebei, Zhao Jie used a feather duster on a painting newly hung on a wall in her living room. The work depicts a flock of birds flying over a boat floating on a stretch of water against a backdrop of mountains and trees.

"This painting, Wealthy Water and Golden Mountain, symbolizes the hope we have here for life in the future," Zhao said.

The village is one of many in Zhuozhou that were severely affected in the summer, when rainstorms battered northern China and the Yellow and Huaihe river valleys, causing flooding and natural disasters.

At around 9 am on Dec 6, Zhang Shubin, team leader of a work group from the city's healthcare security bureau stationed in the village, visited Zhao's home and asked, "What is the temperature inside the house?"

Zhao said, "It is around 21 C, so it's quite warm."

Zhang's team arrived in the village immediately after the floodwaters receded, with a mission to help villagers recover their livelihoods as soon as possible.

Zhuozhou, which is situated just under 60 kilometers from Beijing, occupies 751 square km, and has a population of about 700,000. The county-level city is administered by Baoding city.

In the summer, rivers in Zhuozhou flooded more than 200 villages and 150 residential areas, affecting over 490,000 people and 1,685 businesses, the local government said, adding that the direct economic losses were 19.48 billion yuan ($2.74 billion).

In Zhaowang, more than 130 households experienced flooding that caused significant damage to properties throughout the village. Zhao's house was classified as a level-C dangerous home, meaning that her family could remain in the property, but some repair work was needed.

After the floodwaters receded, the family began repairing and reinforcing the house. "The reinforcement work was successfully completed with the help of the local government and the work group," she said. "We then bought some new furniture and moved back into the house in early November."

Statistics from the Zhuozhou bureau of housing and urban-rural development show that some 18,000 rural houses in the city have been repaired, 29,000 such properties reinforced, and 124 new rural homes built. All the recovery and reconstruction work scheduled for the area last year has been completed.

Work on the remaining 6,000 rural houses that need to be rebuilt will start in the spring, said the local government, which has also provided free construction materials for those in need.

On a bitterly cold day last month in Diaowosi, another flood-affected village in Zhuozhou, the streets were clean and tidy, with a number of wall paintings appearing on the roadsides, including one depicting relief work after the flooding.

"We showed the rescue work in the form of cartoons on the walls to remind us of the importance of working together in the face of disaster," said Zhang Kewei, 44, the village's Party chief, who took office immediately after the floods receded.

Abundant harvest

In Tianjin, Hao Xiangfeng, 46, a farmer from Diliufu village, Xinkou town, Xiqing district, is expecting a bumper harvest from the vegetables he planted in newly renovated greenhouses.

"Thanks to solid flood drainage efforts, the floodwaters receded in mid-September. During that month, I received a loan of 100,000 yuan, and later I was paid 500,000 yuan in compensation by the insurance company. These funds enabled me to renovate all 17 greenhouses and plant vegetables in October," he said.

Hao, who operates the largest farm in the village and also runs agritainment homestays, which are designed to draw locals with various attractions, said the crown daisies he planted in October have already flowered. The celery he planted in November will be ready for harvest in time for the Spring Festival next month.

Hao's story is just one of many that illustrate the agricultural sector's recovery in flood-affected areas of Tianjin.

The Diliufu Party chief, Hao Qingshui, said, "This autumn, we changed the crop variety. Instead of planting rice, we took advantage of the season to grow winter wheat."

Some 2,000 greenhouses in the village were inundated by floodwaters.

In addition to assisting residents, local governments helped companies resume production.

In Zhuozhou, financial institutions have granted 3,300 loans totaling nearly 2.03 billion yuan to businesses and farmers affected by the floods. All 1,685 enterprises and 9,294 individual businesses have resumed production, the local government said.

Last month, at a warehouse owned by BooksChina, one of the country's biggest online booksellers, staff members scanned the barcodes of titles ordered by buyers.

BooksChina, which has two publishing warehouses that occupy about 10,000 sq m in Zhuozhou, lost nearly 4 million books in the flooding, along with tools, vehicles, and sealing equipment.

After the floodwaters receded, Zhuozhou, which is home to more than 200 publishing houses, was left with warehouses full of ruined books.

Now, the three-story-high shelves at one of the BooksChina warehouses are full of new books. Workers search for titles ordered online, scan barcodes, and efficiently package customers' orders.

Huang Ping, founder of the company, said, "With help from the local government, we resumed operations in early September."

The company received support from all sectors of society after the flooding. With local government help, it has been granted rent reductions, three years of subsidized loans, and favorable insurance policies, Huang said.

Nearly 1 million books are now in stock at the company's warehouses.

"In future, we will be protected against property losses caused by disasters such as this," Huang said, adding that Baoding has established a joint insurance system for the book warehousing industry, with the local government sharing risks with insurance companies.

Cabins set up

To protect residents from further disasters, in early November, several 18-sq-m cabins were set up in Shuiyuzui village, Miaofengshan town, Mentougou district, Beijing. Despite their small size and plain appearance, the cabins are designed to safeguard lives when disasters occur suddenly, especially exceptionally heavy rainfall.

On July 29, Mentougou and Fangshan districts in Beijing experienced unprecedented heavy rainfall. The walls of houses in Shuiyuzui still show traces of the water level, which rose to 2.2 meters.

Liu Fuzhi, deputy director of the Mentougou science and information bureau, said, "The district is home to several ravines, making it difficult to relocate villagers at the same time. In isolated villages surrounded by mountains and valleys, there is an urgent need for such emergency shelters to provide continuous access to the internet, electricity and water during disasters."

In August, with support from government departments, including the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, and enterprises at Zhongguancun Intelligent Emergency Equipment Industrial Park, technology was used to help disaster-affected populations.

High-tech materials for power generation, heating, communication, and water purification were used in the emergency safety shelters. For example, the roofs of the shelters feature 20-sq-m photovoltaic panels, which Liu said can generate 5 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

"The amount of electricity generated by a photovoltaic panel varies between summer and winter. In summer, with about eight hours of effective sunlight, a panel produces around 40 kilowatt-hours, while in winter, with about four to five hours of sunlight, it can still generate more than 20 kilowatt-hours," he added.

In addition to providing power, the electricity generated by the panels contributes to the grid, producing economic returns.

The shelters also feature complementary energy resources, including diesel and energy storage facilities, to ensure the continuity and stability of power supplies. The complementary multi-energy power generation system guarantees that the equipment in a shelter can operate for 12 days under normal conditions.

Wang Baogui, manager at XYZ Storage Technology Corp, said: "After the flooding, we conducted on-site inspections in more than 20 villages to gain an in-depth understanding of the situation. We then spent three days formulating solutions."

Shelters are used for emergencies, and they also have their regular uses at other times, he said.

Beijing now has six emergency safety shelters, and more will be introduced based on requirements.

Project progresses

On a section of the Beijuma River, which flows through Zhuozhou, construction of flood control projects is progressing rapidly, with vehicles shuttling back and forth to the construction site.

The Beijuma River (Zhuozhou Section) Emergency Flood Control Project starts in Beitan village and ends at Xiaoying Dyke. The project includes building 8.2 km of new embankments, while 10.1 km of existing embankments will be raised and reinforced.

Wang Xiaoyang, 38, one of those in charge of the project's technological issues, said the work is expected to be completed in June, before the onset of the flood season. The work will not only help improve the flood control system throughout the Haihe River Basin, but will also address urban flood control issues in Zhuozhou.

"We have over 40 pieces of machinery operating on-site simultaneously, and more than 120 employees are working hard to meet the construction schedule, striving for an early completion," Wang said.

Meanwhile, the authorities in Tianjin have begun renovating the city's water facilities and have launched new construction projects since November.

Sources at the Tianjin Water Authority said significant investment has been made in projects, including the expansion of pumping stations along the Duliujian River, dredging and clearance work in the Yongding River's floodplain areas, and improvements to the drainage network in downtown areas.

Expansion of part of a pumping station on the Duliujian River is expected to increase the water flow from 44 cubic meters per second to 60 cu m. In addition, 9,751 meters of drainage pipelines in downtown Tianjin will be renovated.

Qiao Jianhua, director of the Haihe River Water Conservancy Commission, which reports to the Ministry of Water Resources, emphasized the valuable lessons learned from the flooding in the summer and underlined the crucial role played by water conservation facilities.

The importance of prompt forecasting, prevention work, and action plans to address the challenges posed by flooding was also stressed by Qiao.

Looking ahead, he said the authorities need to address problems related to flooding, improve water catchment facilities, accelerate the construction of reservoirs and work on renovating dams and waterways.

Qiao also acknowledged shortcomings in the forecasting capabilities for the Taihang and Yanshan mountains, and hopes that facilities in these areas will be upgraded.

"To ensure the safety of local residents, increased efforts are needed to implement prevention measures and improve infrastructure in risky mountainous areas, water catchment areas, and regions prone to frequent torrential downpours," he said.

Yang Zishuo contributed to this story.