“Enormous losses” for residents sometimes “not warned” by the authorities of the rising waters: a week after record floods near Beijing, villages still covered in mud are healing their wounds.
Entire parts of Zhuozhou, a hard-hit city on the outskirts of the capital in northern Hebei province, had been submerged. Fields, businesses and houses found themselves under two meters of water.
The management of stormwater retention ponds by local authorities who had pledged to limit flooding in Beijing is also believed to have increased the burden on the province.
Under 30 degrees in the shade on Wednesday, in the village of Sanbuqiao, which depends administratively on Zhuozhou (pronounced “Djouo-Djo”), carcasses of cars and mountains of furniture soiled by muddy water are put to dry in front of stores.
“We would have really liked to have been warned by the authorities of the sudden arrival of the waters,” two villagers, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, told AFP.
“We were surprised because the water rose very quickly,” laments one of them.
Last week, top provincial leader Ni Yuefeng said Hebei’s stormwater ponds should “be put to good use” to “reduce the pressure on Beijing in flood control.”
These statements have given some Internet users in the province the impression that they have been partly sacrificed on the altar of protecting the capital.
Another villager, who also wishes to remain anonymous, also regrets not having received a warning from the authorities when the floods arrived.
“In one or two hours, it reached two meters, in the middle of the night. Our little house is not high so luckily we realized that the water was rising otherwise we might have been drowned. took refuge in the neighbours’ house,” she said.
“With the car that was taken away, the goods of our company, we have about a million yuan in losses (126,000 euros). We have no insurance. For compensation, I’m waiting to see. “
Some residents, however, are hostile to flood victims speaking to the press.
A man, who presents himself as a “simple villager”, thus orders AFP journalists to “leave the premises”.
“Nobody wants to talk to you. Journalists have no business here, unless they are sent by the local authorities. Leave the people alone,” he says firmly, waving his hand.
Journalists in China do not need permission from the authorities to travel to flood-stricken areas.
Opposite, many traders and residents clear debris, while six workers in a van take a lunch break.
“We are repairing the power lines, many of which are still cut. It will take a few more days to restore everything,” he explains.
In the village of Matou, employees of a garage dry filters and other spare parts in the sun in order to be able to resell them.
Just in front are parked the wrecks of their customers’ cars, submerged during the floods.
Inside the garage, employees scrape off the last traces of mud and replace cans of oil and lubricant on the displays.
“The losses are huge for us obviously. We had no insurance,” said an employee.
“We are waiting for the government’s compensation plan. All of this will be very expensive, I think. Perhaps several hundred million yuan just for the area here.”
The Chinese government announced on Wednesday evening the allocation of emergency aid of one billion yuan (126 million euros) for victims of areas particularly affected by the floods.
Another trader said he is well aware that Hebei province has been used to limit flooding in Beijing.
“Afterwards, was it necessary or not? We’re just little people. We don’t know the details of it all.”
“We just see the rising water, the floods and the losses that entails. The rest is beyond us.”
08/09/2023 18:05:56 – Zhuozhou (Chine) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
