The torrents pouring down from Longcao Valley took the lives of seven people.
Everything came suddenly.
At about 15:00 on August 13, a flash flood broke out in Longcaogou, Longmenshan Town, Pengzhou City, Sichuan Province.
According to local official reports, as of 13:00 on the 14th, the sudden flash flood caused a total of 7 deaths and 8 minor injuries.
On the afternoon of the 14th, one day has passed since the incident.
On the bridge at the mouth of the Longcao ditch, many villagers looked into the ditch, and many rescuers were carefully searching upstream along the river.
After the turbulent "Qitou Water" a day ago passed, Longcao Valley has returned to calm.
Longcao Valley has always been a key area for local flash flood prevention, but why has it become a "scenic spot" and "internet celebrity check-in place" sought after by citizens?
The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) noticed that on social platforms, with the high temperature in summer, it has become a trend for tourists to look for ravines and rivers to escape the summer, and camping has become a trend, so that some "wild scenic spots" without supporting facilities have potential safety hazards, on social platforms It was marked with labels such as "Internet celebrity check-in place", "niche summer escape", "camping check-in" and so on.
Longcao Valley is no exception.
In addition to the label of "Internet celebrity check-in place" on social platforms, it has also been marked as a "scenic spot" by AutoNavi Map and Tencent Map.
As early as August 2021, the Longmenshan Township government issued a reminder that due to the heated discussions on short video platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, Longcaogou and others have become "internet celebrities punching cards and playing water", but in fact, in the flood season, the ditch is Natural disasters such as mudslides and flash floods are prone to occur.
After the flash flood in Longcaogou this time, some platforms have issued risk reminders for such behaviors and removed relevant play guides.
Some lawyers pointed out to The Paper that the platform has influence, and the recommendation of tourist attractions on the content platform must be professionally operated. Whether it is a reimbursable or a free recommendation, it must comprehensively introduce and inform the risks to ensure the safety of consumers.
Longcao Valley is a "wild scenic spot" locally, and nearby businesses claim to have safety reminder signs
At 14:37 on August 13, Longmenshan Town, Pengzhou City received a weather forecast. Convective clouds were formed in the area under the jurisdiction, which would be accompanied by short-term heavy rainfall.
After receiving the report, the Longmenshan town government immediately organized town and village (community) cadres, patrol members and volunteers to persuade tourists to leave the water along the river in the jurisdiction.
At 15:30, a flash flood broke out in Longcao Valley in Xiaoyudong Community, and tourists who were not evacuated from the river were involved in the flash flood.
Screenshot of the video of the flash flood on the Internet
According to the video posted on the Internet, when the flash flood broke out, many tourists were playing in the shoal, including children, and some tourists were trapped in the water as they evacuated to the shore.
There are many tents, camping tables and chairs and other equipment arranged on the shore, which were washed away in a few seconds.
Another video shows that after the flash flood, many tourists climbed on the rocks by the ditch, and the turbulent flash flood flowed down from the middle.
A man was trapped on a rock in the middle of a stream with a toddler in his arms, but was eventually swept away by fast-rising water.
Mr. Qian took a summer vacation in Longcao Valley that day. He introduced that he originally played in the upper reaches of the ditch. After seeing the weather forecast, he set off back to his residence. Later, he learned that the mountain torrent was coming.
"Longcao Valley often goes there. This place (weather) is hot and there are many people. I have never encountered flash floods before. (Longcao Valley) is considered a 'wild scenic spot' in the local area."
The receptionist at the front desk of Tianbao Hot Spring Hotel, which is closer to Longcaogou, told The Paper that there are clear signs on the stone tablet at the mouth of Longcaogou, people and vehicles are not allowed to enter, and there are signs on the iron gate of the mouth of the mouth. People and vehicles are not allowed to enter. Under normal circumstances, when the weather forecast indicates that it will rain, the Xiaoyudong community staff will go there with a loudspeaker to remind them not to stay.
"I pass by there every day after get off work. The entrance of Longcao Valley is very narrow. If it rains in the back mountain, it will easily flood the Longcao Valley, which is very dangerous. The Longcao Valley and even many places in my hotel have the The local government will often remind you of the sign that prohibits playing in the water. Usually, few people go there to play, and there have been no accidents in the past." The staff of Tianbao Hot Spring Hotel said.
"Longcao Valley is not a scenic spot, it is a mountain valley. Tourists living in my store usually go to the scenic spots such as Sun Bay, Huilong Valley and Bailu Town." The owner of a nearby farmhouse told The Paper reporter, Tourists living in the store usually have to report to the local police station, and the daily operation must also be approved by relevant qualifications.
The owner of another farmhouse nearby told The Paper, "There are many farmhouses around, but most tourists go to the regular scenic spots around Pengshan, and those who go to Longcao Valley are not persuaded."
The reporter searched on a travel service platform and found that there is also a Huilonggou scenic spot near Longcaogou, but you just need to buy tickets. The adult fare is 39 yuan per person.
According to CCTV news, as of 13:00 on the 14th, after the rescue forces such as firefighting, public security and other rescue forces have done their best to search and rescue, there are no new missing persons or casualties; 1 person was treated in the hospital with minor injuries, and the injury is stable.
Up to now, the sudden flash flood has caused 7 deaths and 8 minor injuries.
The on-site search and rescue work is coming to an end, and aftermath work has been launched for the families of the victims.
Witness: On the way back, someone came to rescue and reminded to evacuate
Starting from downtown Pengzhou, drive north along Pengbai Road on the left bank of the Jianjiang River, and you will find many farmhouses and homestays along the way.
Because there are a large number of scenic spots nearby, and there are mountains and waters, many tourists come here to escape the heat.
Baoshan Village of Xiaoyudong Community on Pengbai Road is also a popular holiday area.
At the entrance of the village, there is a square displaying the name of the village, and at the entrance of the Longcaogou ditch where the accident occurred, that is, behind the square, a warning sign was erected at the entrance and an iron gate was installed.
A netizen who went to Longcaogou on the day of the incident said that he was led by a friend and did not know the relevant information before going there.
She said that when she entered the area marked as "Longcaogou Scenic Area", she saw that there were also public toilets near the site.
"(At the time) I thought it shouldn't be fun. Looking at the dark clouds on the mountain, I was afraid of rain, so I didn't continue to go inside. I just played in the water when I entered the 'scenic area'."
An old man who has lived locally for many years told The Paper that the Longcao ditch is about several kilometers deep. The temperature in the ditch is not high and it is cool and comfortable. In midsummer, he will go in to enjoy the shade himself. His family has also visited the river beach in the ditch many times. barbecue.
According to her confirmation, before the accident, someone at Mizoguchi was guarding.
"In some areas of the ditch, barbed wire is installed along the river, and warning signs are posted. It is not allowed to go too far, and it is not allowed to enter the river." The old man said that he had never seen such a violent flash flood.
Why not simply ban tourists from entering the ditch?
A volunteer in Baoshan Village who maintained order at the scene said that there were barbed wire and other obstacles set up at the Mizoguchi before, but they would be destroyed by tourists soon. The ditch enters the Longcao ditch."
The aforementioned netizens recalled that many people went to Longcaogou that day. Judging by the full number of vehicles parked on the roadside, there were more than 1,000 people. When they arrived, they almost didn’t find a parking space.
The netizen also emphasized that some relevant personnel came to her place to remind tourists to leave, and when she was evacuating, she also saw him go to the river to remind the people who set up the sky.
The netizen posted a related tweet recalling the day's experience on social platforms and wrote: "After playing for about 20 minutes, I heard the police say that it was raining on the mountain and there was a flash flood, so hurry up and evacuate. I heard the roar of the flash flood within a minute of going ashore. "The stream that was crystal clear just a minute ago has become like mud."
Mr. He, who experienced the flood personally, was going to Longcaogou to build a team building with colleagues from the company at that time. There were more than 20 people in total.
At that time, I saw a lot of Internet celebrities on Douyin recommending Longcaogou, saying that it was fun and the water was very cool, so more than 20 of them went there.
He also said that Longcao Valley is an undeveloped scenic spot.
I went to the upper reaches of the river to play with my two other colleagues who were more playful, while the other colleagues stayed downstream.
At that time, there were warning signs reminding not to go to the deep water area and pay attention to safety, including the staff of the nearby parking lot also reminded to pay attention to safety.
Mr. He also said that many tourists came to play at the incident site, and there were also local mobile vendors selling goods around.
At about 15:27, they were just upstream when they suddenly heard a loud bang, and then another "bang rumbling" sound.
When they saw that the flood was coming, they quickly ran down.
"One of our colleagues ran down to inform the others, and then we also called to inform them and ran wild, shouting to remind the other tourists on the way."
Mr. He recalled that it only took him a few minutes to rush back from the upstream to the place where his colleagues and relatives rested.
He said rescuers arrived at the scene quickly.
"On the way back, I saw someone coming to rescue and reminding tourists to evacuate."
The China Meteorological Administration has issued information on the prevention of mountain torrents and debris flows, reminding that when staying or moving in the valley, once encountering heavy rain or heavy rain, it is necessary to quickly move to a safe highland, and do not avoid or stay under low-lying valley bottoms or steep hillsides.
When a torrent and debris flow is found, do not run upstream or downstream in the direction of the ditch, climb the slopes on both sides perpendicular to the direction of the torrent and debris flow, and do not stay on the concave slope.
Never cross in flash floods and mudslides.
The relevant staff of Longmenshan Township, where Baoshan Village is located, said in an interview with the media that due to the climate and water source conditions, the locality has long been favored by Chengdu citizens, especially since the high temperature has continued recently, and a large number of tourists have poured into the local area. The government has set up obvious reminder signs and banners on the river beaches and streams in the whole town to discourage tourists from going to the river to play, not only to prevent the sudden outbreak of flash floods, but also some children drowning frequently. Our staff is like this. It is impossible to mark people in the river all the time.”
Shangou has become an "internet celebrity check-in place", lawyers say that social platforms should be fully introduced
Peng Mei News noticed that as early as August 2021, the Longmenshan Town Government issued a reminder that due to the heated discussions on short video platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, Longmenshan Town, such as Jianjiang River Road, Longcaogou, and Longyuan Village Houba and other places have become "internet celebrities punching cards and playing in the water", and many tourists come here to punch cards and play in the water.
Longcaogou and Houba in Longmenshan Town are geological disaster sites, prone to natural disasters such as mudslides and mountain torrents.
The article introduces that Qitou water is prone to break out in the ditch during the flood season (Note: Qitou water is a natural disaster due to rain in the back mountain and mountain torrents in the front mountain), which is a dangerous mountain torrent that breaks out after local rainstorms in the mountainous area in summer. The water head is loud and fierce. , often just heard the roar from the river, the water head immediately reached the front.
If someone happens to be in the river or by the river, it is often too late to escape and is swept away by the torrent in an instant.
Generally, the lower reaches of the river are fine and sunny, but the upper reaches of the stream suddenly rained heavily and flash floods broke out.
A photo from the scene shows that Longmenshan Town, Pengzhou City has set up a sign near Longcaogou, showing the "gentle, quiet, good place to escape the summer heat" on platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin, which are popular with tourists. A comparison was made between the Longcao Valley and the Longcao Valley during flash floods to remind tourists to "cherish life and do not go into the river" during the peak summer flood prone period.
After the incident, some social platforms issued risk reminders to such wilderness "spots" and "internet celebrity check-in places".
At present, platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin have not responded to the matter.
Users on Xiaohongshu publish their recommendations for the location of the incident
The Paper retrieved Xiaohongshu and found that the relevant play guides about Longcaogou in Pengzhou have been removed from the shelves, and the prompt "Tourism, safety first. Do not stay or play in dangerous places" appeared during the search.
In addition, search for the content of "playing in water in the wild" on the Douyin platform. The platform reminds: When playing near the water, please pay attention to the risk warning and protect your own safety.
The reporter noticed that the AutoNavi map and Tencent map also showed the "Longcao (Cao) Valley Scenic Spot", and the AutoNavi map was positioned at the mouth of the Longcaogou ditch.
However, on the afternoon of August 14, the "Longcao (Cao)gou Scenic Spot" on the AutoNavi map could no longer be located. After clicking, other regular scenic spots nearby will be displayed.
"Longcao (Cao)gou Scenic Spot" can still be searched on the Tencent map.
On the afternoon of the 14th, a staff member of AutoNavi responded to The Paper, saying that after verifying the qualifications of the Longcaogou Scenic Area, the place does not belong to the scenic spot, and the location has now been deleted from the AutoNavi map.
How to determine the qualification certification of the scenic spot is the responsibility of the specialized staff, and they are neither clear nor able to disclose it.
Douyin platform user recommendation evaluation
At about 15:00 on the 14th, enter the keyword "Longcaogou" in the Douyin search bar, and you can still search for the location information of "Longcaogou Scenic Spot", and indicate that the scenic spot is shortlisted for the "Chengdu Scenic Spot Planting List" .
After clicking on the location, you can see the specific location logo and 500 comments left by users, of which 83% are positive.
The location information of Douyin was marked as the “Chengdu Scenic Spot Planting Draft List” where the incident occurred.
There is a video under the label of this location showing the travel conditions of Longcaogou before the incident.
The video content shows that there are many tourists in the ditch. Many tourists have set up tents on both sides of the river bank, and some children have entered the river bed to play and play.
The reporter called Douyin's official customer service regarding a large number of experience videos recommended for play on the platform. The other party said that they can only report the illegal content that has not been deleted and can still be retrieved. In the face of the situation mentioned by the reporter, they could not verify it.
Ding Jinkun, a lawyer from Shanghai Dabang Law Firm, said that the platform has influence and recommended tourist attractions should be truthful, comprehensive and accurate, and fulfill legal obligations.
Ding Jinkun pointed out that if the platform is a paid recommendation, it must be informed of the possible risks.
If the fault is not informed of the risk, it may be liable for the fault.
If the platform is a free and unpaid recommendation, the consumer will have an accident when he travels by himself, and he is willing to take risks and take his own responsibility. The platform has no legal responsibility, but it is morally ashamed.
In short, the platform must be operated professionally. Whether it is a repayment or a free recommendation, it must comprehensively introduce and inform the risks to ensure the safety of consumers.
(The Paper reporter He Peiyun He Liquan Zhu Xuan intern Zhang Xinyi Xu Linjie)