↑In Linjiang Town, Kaizhou District, Chongqing, after the flood receded, Lei Xia was reorganizing the tables and chairs in the teahouse. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Wei
Lei Xia runs a teahouse in Linjiang Town, Kaizhou District, Chongqing. When the flood arrived on the afternoon of the 16th, she had already moved to a safe area and moved tables, chairs, electrical appliances and other items to a safe place, avoiding major property losses.
"At around 3 o'clock that afternoon, I suddenly heard a gong sound and knew that the flood was coming, which bought time for everyone to transfer safely." Lei Xia said.
html Starting from the 115th, the upper reaches of the Yangtze River where Kaizhou is located has suffered continuous heavy rainfall. Staff from townships, streets and villages took turns to patrol 24 hours a day. Most of them carried a gong and immediately beat the gong when they found danger. The Tonggong, which has been used in ancient times to the present, still plays an important role in China's rural flood prevention work."Floods often come in a hurry, and sometimes occur late at night or early morning, and it is too late to inform them from door to door. The sound of the gong is very penetrating, and people know that the flood is coming when they hear the sound of the gong." said Zou Pinsheng, the mayor of Linjiang Town.
↑In Linjiang Town, Kaizhou District, Chongqing, town cadres are carrying Tonggongs to inspect the river water level. Photo by Huang Wei, Xinhua News Agency,
Nowadays, big data and intelligent technologies such as drones and intelligent inspection systems have been widely used in flood prevention work. However, in some rural areas where technology is not yet developed, many "native measures" for flood prevention also play an important role. Like the Tonggong, the loudspeaker also shows "power" in flood prevention and control.
Wuxi County Tianba Town and Linjiang Town are in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. At around 3 a.m. on the 16th, floods flooded across the Wantan River and rushed towards Chang Town. In a critical moment, Yuan Zhujun, a staff member of Tianba Town, began to shout with a tweeter: "Everyone is getting up soon, the flood is coming, all are transferred to the elementary school above!"
The people in their sleep were awakened by the tweeter and began to move one after another. At around 6 a.m., the flood in Chang Town had reached 2 meters deep, but more than 1,000 residents had already been transferred, and no one was injured or killed.
"Door-to-door notifications can only be one-on-one, while a speaker can be used to 100 or 1,000 people. The transmission efficiency is very high and it is a 'weapon' to strive for the timeliness of flood prevention and evacuation." Yuan Zhujun said.
In the vast rural areas of China, it is sometimes not enough to have gongs and loudspeakers. At critical moments, you have to rely on the feet of grassroots government staff to come to the door to check in person. Especially in rural areas, there are generally more elderly people, poor hearing and slow movement, and they are often the targets that need to be paid attention to in flood control and transfer.
↑In Hesheng Village, Linjiang Town, Kaizhou District, Chongqing, villagers are carrying gongs to inspect the sinking of the landslide. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Wei
html at around 8 a.m. on the 116th, in Xianglushan Community, Wuqiao Street, Wanzhou District, Chongqing, the flood was waist-deep, and most of the residents had been evacuated. Community Secretary Fu Shanxiang is still investigating door to door.At the second floor staircase of a residential building, an old man and a mother and daughter are calling for help. Fu Shanxiang found a rope, tied one to the road street tree, and the other to his waist, jumped into the waist-deep torrent, and rushed across the street with difficulty, transferring the trapped three people to a safe place.
↑In Xianglushan Community, Wuqiao Street, Wanzhou District, Chongqing, Fu Shanxiang transferred the affected people in the flood. Photo provided by the interviewee
"While beating the gong, shouting, and issuing alarms, township and village cadres must knock on the door from door to door, and they must not let alone stay at home, especially the elderly." Fu Shanxiang said.
In the recent flood situation in the south, "domestic measures" such as Tonggong have been widely used in various places. "In rural areas, flood prevention work is ultimately the work of 'people', and these 'country methods' will never go out of date," said Zou Pinsheng.
Statement: This article is reproduced for the purpose of conveying more information. If there is any error in the source marking or infringes on your legitimate rights and interests, please contact this website with the proof of ownership, and we will correct and delete it in time. Thank you.
