Villagers band together to fight floods in north China city

Aerial photo shows rescuers fortifying temporary dyke against the flood at Lianbo Village in Hejin City, north China's Shanxi Province, Oct. 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhan Yan)

TAIYUAN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- When severe flooding struck a village in the city of Jinzhong, north China's Shanxi Province last week, 73 residents of a neighboring village launched rescue operations at short notice.

Located in the Taigu District, Beiguang Village was among the places hit hardest by flooding following continuous downpours in Shanxi. In the vicinity of the village, cement roads were damaged by landslides as the mountain floods continued to scour the road surfaces.

Help was urgently needed, and it came in the form of dozens of volunteers from the nearby Baicheng Village.

"Beiguang Village has been hit by the flooding. It needs to be rescued, so let's go there and help them," Zhang Lixin, head of the Baicheng Village, announced at the loudspeaker in the wee hours of Oct. 6.

In less than half an hour, 73 villagers gathered at the yard of the villagers' committee and hurried off on their rescue mission.

Although the weather was cold and it was raining heavily, the villagers paid no attention, as they filled sand bags to build a dike.

"At first, everyone was still wearing thick coats. But it was difficult to work with a coat on, so after a few minutes, everyone took them off, and the trees next to them were covered with their coats," said Shi Zhenxing, 68, the oldest rescuer.

The rising water level of the upstream reservoir, coupled with the flash floods, put the nearby railway line in danger. So the team built a dike overnight to protect the railway.

Although the rain relented on Oct. 8, all of the 15 cattle farms in Beiguang Village were flooded. The local government and villagers transferred more than 1,000 cattle to a safe place, according to Dang Shuanbao, head of Beiguang Village.

On Oct. 9, the rain started again. The road at the other side of the Beiguang Village had been washed away, and flood has inundated the farmland.

"Everyone is ready to offer their support again," Zhang Lixin said.