By Chen Jianwen and Ding Yonghan
BEIJING, Jul. 30 -- In the past few days, under the impact of Typhoon Gaemi, several areas in Guangdong and Hunan provinces have been suffering floods and geological disasters caused by continuous heavy rainfall. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) and militia forces resolutely implemented President Xi Jinping's important instructions and devoted themselves to the emergency rescue tasks on order, making every effort to safeguard the safety of people's lives and property.
Since July 25, heavy rainfall has continued in eastern Guangdong, and many streets in Chaozhou City were waterlogged, entrapping some local residents. After the outbreak of the disaster, a unit of the PAP Guangdong Corps rapidly dispatched troops to evacuate the trapped people.
Affected by the heavy rainfall wreaking havoc in southern and eastern Hunan since July 26, some rural roads in Zixing City were blocked, people were trapped, and communications were interrupted. Upon receiving the order, a detachment of the PAP Second Mobile Corps immediately responded and conducted search and rescue with the assistance of drone reconnaissance and quickly repaired the collapsed roads. As of the evening of July 28, 85 people had been evacuated and more than 5,000 cubic meters of deposits had been cleared.
In the past few days, continuous rainfall caused waterlogging in many areas of Hengyang City, making water levels in several river sections exceed the warning level. Around 08:00 a.m. on July 28, a flash flood triggered landslides, causing several casualties. The PLA Hengyang Garrison emergently dispatched troops and militias to search and rescue the affected people and repair the roads. A detachment of the PAP Hunan Corps rushed to the impacted areas with rescue equipment, flinging themselves into search and rescue, dam reinforcement and other tasks.
As of the evening of July 28, the taskforces in Leiyang City and Hengnan County had evacuated more than 130 people, and the taskforces in Hengdong County had blocked multiple piping sites. The disaster relief operations were still underway as of press time.
