[Commentary] The waters at the confluence of the Dadu River, Qingyi River and Minjiang River are surging, and the sound of the water is deafening. On the afternoon of August 18, in the scenic area of ​​Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan, turbid floods passed by the "toes" of Leshan Giant Buddha with tree branches. This is the first time that Leshan Giant Buddha has been flooded to its "toes" since 1949. Looking along the line of sight of the Buddha, I saw that the land of Fengzhou Island in the center of the river was almost completely submerged.

　　Since mid-August, many places in Sichuan have experienced continuous heavy rain. The province launched the first level I flood control emergency response in history on the 18th. Affected by the superposition of local rainstorms and heavy rainfall in the upper reaches of the area, the Qingyi River and the Leshan section of the Minjiang River have exceeded the warning and water level. On that day, the peak discharge of the Jiajiang Hydrological Station on the Qingyi River reached 18,100 cubic meters per second, the largest flood in history. At 14:00 on the 18th, the peak flow of the Wutongqiao Hydrological Station on the Minjiang River reached 38,000 cubic meters per second.

　　At about 12:30 that day, in Jiufeng Town, near the Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area, the reporter saw that the town’s highway had been flooded, and several water rescue fire trucks dragged the assault boat across the water.

　　At about 15 o'clock, the reporter saw at the Leshan Giant Buddha that there was no longer a lively scene in the scenic area, and the chanting of the monks in Lingyun Temple echoed far. Jiang Rong, who works at a restaurant in the scenic area, said that since the rainstorm hit, there have been fewer and fewer tourists.

　　[Concurrent] (Jiang Rong, Staff of Scenic Hotel)

　　A few days ago, there were quite a lot of people, and there were many people watching everywhere. Then there was no one after heavy rain, and it was closed.

　　[Explanation] The Leshan Giant Buddha, the largest carved stone carving of China in the Tang Dynasty, is still sitting at the confluence of the three rivers. The reporter looked down at the Buddha's head platform and saw that the flood had reached the "toe" of the Buddha. The Buddha's foot platform was completely submerged, and only the roof of the pavilion on the side was exposed.

　　Liu Junming, deputy director of the Wuyou Police Station of the Great Buddha Scenic Area Branch of the Public Security Bureau of Leshan City, introduced that the continuous heavy rainfall caused the water level of the Sanjiang River to exceed the warning line many times, and the scenic area was officially closed on the 17th.

　　[Concurrent] (Liu Junming, deputy director of the Giant Buddha Uyou Police Station, the Giant Buddha Scenic Area Branch of the Public Security Bureau of Leshan City)

　　It should be the afternoon of August 16th, and then the scenic area management committee issued a notice saying that starting from the 17th, due to the impact of multiple days of heavy rainfall, the scenic area will be closed and the scenic area will be closed. When will it open and wait for follow-up notice. Therefore, from yesterday to today, basically not many tourists have come, that is, some self-driving tourists have come to check in, mainly for the rescue work of this part of tourists, (transfer rescued) residents and tourists together should be several hundred people.

　　[Explanation] A more serious danger occurred on Fengzhou Island opposite the Big Buddha. In the early morning of the 18th, 1020 people were trapped on an isolated island due to flooding. Subsequently, a number of rescue forces rushed to help. As of 21 o'clock that day, a total of 742 trapped people had been transferred.

　　Due to the confluence of the three rivers and the superimposition of floods, the flood control pressure in the central city of Leshan has increased sharply, and nearly 30% of the area has suffered serious waterlogging. At 18:00 that day, the reporter saw that many roads were impassable due to waterlogging. In severe areas, people were walking in the water below their thighs, and some people were dragging kayaks.

　　At about 20 o'clock, on Moruo Square in Leshan City, trapped people evacuated from Fengzhou Island were waiting in line for resettlement. In the crowd, police, firefighters, and militiamen came and went in a hurry. In the government auditorium of Shizhong District, Leshan City, staff members register information for the people, who will then be placed in a hotel temporarily, and doctors are also treating people who are unwell.

　　The Wanqiang family who lives on Fengzhou Island are waiting for resettlement. The two-story building of his house was half flooded, only some clothing was snatched out, and the rest of the property was flooded. Wan Qiang said that while waiting for rescue in the afternoon, his worries had turned into happiness.

　　[Concurrent period] (Fengzhou Island residents Wan Qiang)

　　I must have been in a bad mood at the time, and it must be good now. People will be fine when they come out, right.

　　He Meikun and Lu Yang report from Leshan, Sichuan

Editor in charge: [Wang Kai]