【Feature 141】After the water recedes
It rained again in Zhengzhou, one month after the "July 20" torrential rain disaster.
From August 22 to 23, there was a heavy rain in Zhengzhou, a local heavy rain.
As of 6 o'clock on the 23rd, the city's largest precipitation occurred in Hansi, Zhongmou County, which was 140.9 mm; there were 22 sites with rainfall exceeding 100 mm and 97 sites with 50-99.9 mm rainfall.
Such precipitation data is not very special during the flood season, but Zhengzhou has made almost perfect preparations for this.
Since August 18, the local meteorological department has successively issued rainstorm warnings, fire commanders will be stationed in advance, interruption facilities have been installed at 8 tunnel entrances in the city, the community has enough sandbags, and private cars parked over the viaduct...
On social media, the topic "Henan encounters heavy precipitation again" has also long been hung on various hot search lists.
Before this round of rains, the Zhengzhou Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government just issued the sixth letter to the people of Zhengzhou.
It was called "Every one of you, is the hero of this city!"
"The letter reads: In this July and August, a sudden and extreme heavy rain and a wave of new crown pneumonia epidemic renewed a surprise attack, which caused the prosperous Zhengzhou to suddenly shut down and put 12.6 million Zhengzhou people into hardship.
Difficulty is a state that rarely lasts only a moment.
According to information released by Zhengzhou City, during the "July 20" torrential rain disaster, the city's disaster-affected population was 1,884,900, and the direct economic loss was 53.2 billion yuan.
However, for many people in Zhengzhou, these two fixed-frame data are far from the end.
After the flood subsided, they had just begun their difficult struggle.
Traces of blisters are everywhere
After experiencing heavy rainfall again, Hou Zhen, who lives in Jinshui District, Zhengzhou City, had one less thing to worry about compared with the neighbors who were looking for high-pitched parking early.
His car is still waiting for repair in the warehouse of the 4S shop.
On July 20, Hou Zhen drove home in the rain after get off work. The more he opened, the more he felt that the water level on the road was slowly rising.
On Dongfeng Road, not far from home, the accumulation of water was more than 1 meter, and the vehicles in front of him were jammed with "squatting nests", making it difficult for Hou Zhen's SUV to move forward.
In the end, he could only get out of the car and return home "half-walking and half-swimming".
After the rain stopped, Hou Zhen immediately contacted the 4S shop to tow the flooded car away for repair.
Afterwards, he fell into a long wait. "At first, the store said that it could be repaired in 10 days, but then the deadline was changed, and the latest reply has become "I don't know."
Hou Zhen heard that this 4S shop temporarily rented two warehouses, in which more than 500 water-damaged vehicles were parked, which "cannot be repaired."
According to data from the Henan Automobile Industry Chamber of Commerce, during the "July 20" heavy rain disaster, about 400,000 motor vehicles were damaged in Zhengzhou, which exceeded 8% of the total number of vehicles. In other words, there were approximately One out of every 12 motor vehicles is damaged.
In addition, according to local media in Henan, at least a quarter of the 3.6 million electric bicycles listed in Zhengzhou were damaged in the rainstorm.
Cars and electric bicycles are not the only ones "soaking in water".
Until mid-August, Zhang Guochao, the manager of the Zhengzhou Master Wine Cultural Experience Hall, was mainly responsible for leading the staff to clean, organize and disinfect the warehouse in the Hengze Logistics Park in Zhongmu County.
On July 21, the continuous heavy rainfall caused the water level of the Jialu River near the logistics park to soar. The river flooded into the warehouses of the park, and most of the goods hoarded by hundreds of wine merchants suffered losses.
Zhang Guochao stored more than 20,000 boxes of wine in the park. Because the warehouse was not in a low-lying place, the goods were stacked neatly, and only part of the outer boxes and packaging of the wine were soaked.
"But I will also lose a lot." Zhang Guochao said. There are 4,000 boxes of old wine in the warehouse that he has bothered to collect. These wines are sold for appearance.
What worries Zhang Guochao even more is that a huge rainstorm has caused many companies to suffer huge losses. The purchasing power of the market will weaken for a period of time. As a non-essential product, sales of alcohol will inevitably decline.
"Not to mention that the flood has just receded, and the new crown pneumonia epidemic has made a comeback."
On July 30, during a routine investigation of key populations in Erqi District, Zhengzhou City, one case of asymptomatic infection with new coronary pneumonia was found.
Upon learning of this news, cinema manager Yang Zhen was working hard to hit the performance in the second half of the summer vacation.
On the night of the heavy rain, the Oriental Golden Harvest Studios, Dennis Mall on Garden Road where Yang Zhen worked, provided a refuge for thousands of people who were forced to live on the streets.
Later, Yang Zhen and the studio became popular on the Internet, and later, several movie theaters with the same behavior were also "exposed."
What people don't know is that because most movie theaters are located on the top floors of buildings, heavy rain also caused damage that cannot be ignored.
As far as Yang Zhen knows, there is a leak in the ceiling of the five projection halls of a cinema, and the repair of the screen alone will cost several million yuan.
But at that time, cinema managers were still looking forward to it. Whether it was seeking psychological comfort after suffering or coming to the “refuge” to check in, people all needed cinemas.
On July 23, the renovation of Oriental Golden Harvest Cinemas was completed and reopened. In the following week, Yang Zhen obviously felt that the theater's passenger flow had increased a lot.
But the good times didn't last long.
On July 31, Yang Zhen received a notice that theaters need to be closed due to the epidemic.
At that moment, he felt that the scene at the beginning of last year was repeated.
Three days later, Yang Zhen convened a meeting with employees and announced the holiday.
"For us, this is the end of the summer vacation."
Tow truck, damage assessment, nucleic acid test
The emergence of the new crown pneumonia epidemic has further slowed the speed of Zhengzhou, which has not recovered from the heavy rain.
However, one industry is an exception.
"It's so busy that the clothes are rotten." Wang Xiaoyan is a loss assessor for a well-known auto company Zhengzhou 4S shop. During this month, he has not taken a day off. He works more than 12 hours a day. At most, he picks up one day. More than 200 phone calls for wading vehicle reports, "not on the damage assessment, or on the way to assess the damage."
According to data disclosed by the Information Office of the Henan Provincial Government, as of August 10, the province’s insurance industry had received a total of 501,400 claims, with a preliminary estimated loss of 11.449 billion yuan.
Among them, 238,100 car insurance reports were reported due to heavy rain disasters, with an estimated loss of 6.39 billion yuan.
At the beginning, how to drag the car out was the biggest problem.
The stagnant water receded slowly, and many cars were turned off in low-lying places. The staff had to take ropes into the waist-deep water to connect the cars and trailers together.
Wang Xiaoyan watched from the sidelines and beat a drum in his heart: A little carelessness may lead to a secondary accident.
When more and more cars were sent to 4S shops, Wang Xiaoyan found that the loss assessment process that he had been following since his career was useless at all—that way, he could only complete the loss assessment work for up to 3 cars in a day.
Later, a temporary "packing damage determination method" was issued in the store, "based on the height of the vehicle being blistered, a rough estimate of the degree of damage, and then the compensation amount according to industry standards and vehicle prices."
Even so, one month after the heavy rain, in the warehouse of Wang Xiaoyan's 4S store, half of the wading vehicles were waiting to be assessed for damage.
During this period of time, in addition to their own work, the store employees all volunteered to undertake a new task: on a sunny day, the seats of the wading car should be removed to dry, and the car doors should be opened for ventilation to prevent water from being soaked. The area is moldy and hairy.
"With a little effort, you can help car owners avoid possible losses." Wang Xiaoyan said.
As busy as Wang Xiaoyan, there is also Liu Guilan, an 80-year-old man who lives in No. 115 courtyard of Duling Street, Jinshui District.
No. 115 hospital is close to the closed area where there are confirmed cases. Liu Guilan has been volunteering at the checkpoint at the entrance of the yard since the end of July. Whoever it is, she thought about going home in the hospital, wearing a mask, taking body temperature, and showing her health. Code and other steps, one can not be less.
As early as the battle against the epidemic in early 2020, Liu Guilan was praised by neighbors for "staying at the gate of community prevention and control for 100 days" with her daughter-in-law Chen Ruifeng.
After the heavy rain in July, many furniture and electrical appliances in Liu Guilan's house on the first floor were soaked in water, but whether it was the community's flood prevention before or the recent fight against the epidemic, the old lady insisted on making a difference.
Not only that, this time in addition to her daughter-in-law, Liu Guilan's grandson Yu Weihao, who is in college, also became her helper. A year ago, her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law joined forces, and now they have "evolved" into three generations of grandparents and grandchildren to attack together.
Liu Guilan said that her idea is very simple. As long as she does more by herself, Zhengzhou will get back on track faster.
This is also the common idea of thousands of people in Zhengzhou.
On August 15, the city launched another round of nucleic acid testing for all employees.
"The line must be 1 meter apart, and you must open your mouth and say "ah" loudly during the test." At a test point at the intersection of Chengbei Road and Lingyun Road, a child amused everyone when he recites the essentials of nucleic acid testing.
As of mid-August, 6 rounds of nucleic acid testing have been carried out in Zhengzhou's sealed control area, and the fourth round of testing has ended in other areas.
Due to the high degree of cooperation of the citizens and the gradual familiarity of the process, the time for each round of nucleic acid testing is shortening.
Yu Weihao said, "Have you stabbed today?" It has become a greeting for many people when they meet.
"I'm going to help,
Zhengzhou has moved me more"
August 14th is the Chinese New Year's Eve, which happens to be a Saturday.
34-year-old Zong Nan ordered fresh flowers to be placed at home in advance, and went to the kitchen to fry several dishes.
After a busy schedule, he and his wife Li Yunlei sat at the dining table and solemnly clinked their glasses.
For a while, the two looked at each other, tears in their eyes.
"Almost, we can't make it through this Chinese Valentine's Day."
At around 6 pm on July 20, Zong Nan, who arrived home first, received a call from Li Yunlei, saying that she was trapped on Metro Line 5.
"Oxygen is getting less and less" "I can't hold it anymore"... Seeing that the message from his wife is getting worse and worse, Zong Nan decides to go out in the rain, "I have to save her."
City traffic has been paralyzed, and Zong Nan can only walk the entire journey.
"Walking and crying, and constantly cheering up the wife on the phone." At about 8:20 in the evening, he arrived at the Shakou Road Station of the subway.
At that time, part of the rescue force had reached the subway tunnel. The closer Zong Nan was to the platform on the second floor, the more people who had just escaped oncoming.
Some people can walk slowly on their own, some need to be supported by two people, and others need to carry or lift to leave the carriage.
When Zong Nan quickly walked to the front of the car, an unconscious passenger was just "transported" to him by rescuers.
Seeing that no one took over in the follow-up, Zong Nan stepped forward to carry the injured and walked out.
"I have to save people, because as long as others are like me, my wife has a chance to be rescued." Afterwards, Zong Nan explained his psychological activities like this.
Not long after walking with the wounded on his back, Zong Nan heard someone calling his name and turned around to see that Li Yunlei, who was soaked all over, was standing not far away.
At that moment, the two of them also looked at each other, but they were speechless.
Two days before the Qixi Festival, Yu Tao, who ended her isolation, returned to work in a barber shop in Hefei, Anhui.
"Many old customers are eager to come and cut their hair."
More than 20 days ago, Yu Tao "disappeared" from Hefei after an old customer's appointment.
Arranged to have a haircut at 3 in the afternoon, but at that point they found that the store was locked. The customers who had their doors closed were very upset until they inadvertently checked the WeChat Moments and said, "Yu Tao went to Zhengzhou for rescue!"
As a member of the local blue sky rescue team in Hefei, Yu Tao is just one of thousands of volunteers across the country who supported Henan during the flood.
After the flood subsided, they also evacuated silently and became an ordinary hairstylist, operator, and individual small boss again.
However, some people have had an inseparable relationship with Henan since then.
After the disaster, Ye Jungang, a car mechanic from Guangdong, went to Zhengzhou to repair the car for several days for free.
On his return journey, Zhengzhou issued an epidemic notification.
After arriving in Guangzhou, Ye Jungang took the initiative to report and accepted the quarantine. Unexpectedly, a few netizens abused him on the grounds of returning to Guangdong for “drugging”.
The unprovoked accusations made Ye Jungang very injured. When recording the clarification video, he choked in his voice for a while.
The choking sound came back to Zhengzhou, stinging the hearts of Zhengzhou people.
On August 3, Zhengzhou citizen Zhang Qing initiated a fundraiser for Ye Jungang’s quarantine expenses and received a positive response.
170 people donated a total of RMB 20050 in 3 hours.
That night, Zhang Qing gave the money to Ye Jungang.
But what he didn't expect was that the next day, Ye Jungang changed hands and donated the money to the Zhengzhou Charity Federation.
"Originally, I went to Zhengzhou to help, but in the end Zhengzhou gave me more support and moved me."
After many consultations, the Zhengzhou Charity Federation decided to purchase the donated money into tools and equipment for vehicle maintenance and distribute it to 40 volunteers who participated in vehicle rescue after the flood.
Ye Jungang said that after the epidemic, he will go to Zhengzhou again to "drink a bowl of spicy soup and eat a bowl of braised noodles."
Some people "CD", some people sign up to learn to swim
Having lived in Zhengzhou for 21 years, restaurant chef Wang Lei did not expect that this summer, "access to water, electricity, food and drink" has become his standard of happiness in life.
On the afternoon of July 20, due to the lack of ingredients left in the restaurant, after discussing with the manager, the head chef took Wang Lei and another colleague to a nearby farmer’s market in the rain.
Afterwards, Wang Lei recalled that he had received several rainstorm warning text messages on his mobile phone at that time, but at that time, he had the same idea as those around him: In the north, where can the rain go too much?
"We went to purchase, just thinking about normal business after the rain stopped the next day."
However, when the three people walked out of the farmer's market carrying large and small bags, the stagnant water on the road had already overflowed Wang Lei's thighs.
Seeing that the heavy rain showed no signs of stopping, the head chef motioned everyone to carry the ingredients on their backs and waded towards the restaurant.
The current is very fast, and every step forward takes a lot of effort, and you must always pay attention to the underwater situation to prevent falling.
When they reached a low-lying place, the three big men were a little exhausted. Finally, with the help of a few firefighters passing by, there was no accident.
Wang Lei said that on that road, for the first time in his life, he felt a deep fear because of the rain.
In the evening, the ingredients brought back gave the restaurant staff a warm meal.
However, when a colleague was preparing to dump the leftovers into the trash can as usual, the chef on the side sternly stopped him, "We bought this at the risk of death, don't waste it!"
This voice stunned everyone present, and only Wang Lei, who had also experienced the torrential rain, understood that at this time, every gram of food weighs a thousand catties.
It was with this batch of ingredients that Wang Lei and his colleagues survived the three days without electricity and signal in the restaurant.
Since then, Wang Lei will always think of the roar of the head chef. He has been used to seeing food waste for many years, and now he has developed the habit of "CD-ROM".
"What was saved in the last meal may save lives in the next meal."
A huge rainstorm that broke the extreme value left different "sequelae" to Zhengzhou people.
Shen Xingyu, a 33-year-old real estate company salesman, walked for 10 hours in the heavy rain before returning home.
During this period, he lost contact with his family because his mobile phone was damaged by a blister. He was trapped in deep water or in turbulent water several times, causing danger.
After the rain stopped, Shen Xingyu, who was called a "workaholic" by his family, took a few days off and went to the community every day to help move supplies and clean up the silt.
When he was free, he researched different levels of rainstorm warnings and different types of rainfall, and reposted dozens of popular science articles about self-rescue in disasters in his circle of friends.
In addition, Shen Xingyu, who can't swim, enrolled himself in a swimming class.
He said that this is not only for health, but also for survival.
As a result, in the class he met many "classmates" who had the same ideas as him.
On August 19, Shi Nian saw the news from the Internet that Zhengzhou Metro Line 5 began to operate without load.
This subway line is the best choice for her daily commute.
On July 20, if it weren't for a few minutes late, she would board the train that eventually killed 14 people.
The subway was out of service, buses had to detour, and there was a risk of gathering. In the past month, Shi Nian was inconvenient to commute to and from get off work.
Around her, some people began to use walking or running instead of public transportation, and some people bought expensive bicycles for commuting.
Now that the time for the subway to resume operation is approaching, Shi Nian can hardly tell her complicated feelings. "Maybe it takes a lot of courage to enter the subway station again."
Wait for the rain to come, wait for the sky to clear
On August 18, the Henan Meteorological Department issued the first warning of showers, severe convective weather and heavy rain in some areas.
Since then, Zhengzhou has entered a five-day "city-wide alert" state.
People continue to receive reminder text messages on their mobile phones. Some communities have prepared pumps and motors early, and many underground garages have quickly installed flood control baffles.
During the last round of heavy rains, old buildings along Beach Street in Jinshui District were seriously damaged. This time, before the rain fell, residents and businesses had received notices to evacuate in advance.
At 12 o'clock on August 21, Zhengzhou launched the second-level emergency response to flood control, requiring all localities to take measures such as suspension of work, suspension of business, suspension of school, and suspension of transportation in a timely manner to close underground spaces, bridges and culverts, tunnels, and recessed interchanges, and assign special personnel to guard them.
Some units simply equip the staff on duty with one mobile phone each for China Mobile, China Unicom, and the telecommunications network to prevent losses due to signal interruption to the greatest extent.
The "July 20" torrential rain disaster changed the Zhengzhou people's understanding of the word "rain", and also changed their perspective on the city.
"Zhengzhou is located in the plain and the natural flood discharge capacity is limited. Why hasn't there been an emergency plan for this before?" When this question appeared in Wang Lei's mind, he himself was taken aback, "Before the heavy rain, I never thought this was what I should do. issue concerned".
On social platforms and various government affairs websites in Zhengzhou, more and more netizens have raised questions similar to the torture of the city’s "lizi": why the heavy rain caused nearly 200 roads in the city to collapse, and why there are almost no underground pipe networks that were upgraded only a few years ago Play a role, why would the Jingguang Road tunnel, known as the "smart brain", flood hundreds of cars...
"It is imperative to comprehensively improve the city's ability to cope with floods." At the post-disaster reconstruction meeting held in Zhengzhou not long ago, the repair, reinforcement and transformation of infrastructure in various parts of the city became the focus of repeated emphasis.
In fact, statistics show that in recent years, more than 60% of large and medium-sized cities in my country have experienced serious urban waterlogging; worldwide, urban waterlogging caused by extreme weather is also common in the urbanization process of emerging developing countries. problem.
When the size of the economy continues to expand and per capita income continues to rise, the city's most basic function of sheltering from wind and rain has become increasingly unreliable.
It is not only Zhengzhou that needs to reflect and improve on this.
Since the morning of August 22, Zhengzhou has ushered in "long-waiting" heavy rainfall.
Coming together, there is also good news that the city has no new cases for 9 consecutive days.
Looking at the rain outside the window, Yang Zhen remembered the night a month ago, and remembered that for several days after that, there were always people who bought tickets online but didn't watch movies.
He knew that it was people expressing gratitude to the theater.
Yang Zhen felt that these people must be the same as himself, waiting for the day when life returns to normal and the theater reopens.
(At the request of the interviewee, Zong Nan and Li Yunlei in the text are pseudonyms)
Our reporter Yu Jiaxi Our correspondent Dong Junya