Rescue teams arrive in Hebei in wake of floods

Rescue teams arrived in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, on Tuesday to extract hundreds of people trapped in houses by floodwaters after days of downpours brought by Typhoon Doksuri.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 600 residents in the Shuishangrenjia residential community were trapped and in urgent need of rescue, according to a report by Beijing News.

Many residents in the community said the standing water was deep and that the first floors of residential buildings were inundated, the report said. A video clip showing water pouring into a basement in the community went viral on internet.

The community, located near a floodgate along the Beijuma River, a tributary of Daqing River in the Haihe River Basin, started using its flood detention areas on Tuesday morning.

Responding to calls from the local government, several Ram Union rescue teams from Beijing and Zhejiang province were headed to Zhuozhou on Tuesday to help in the rescue work. The Ram Union is a Chinese non-government team that provides rescue assistance internationally.

Its teams from Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces have been assembled and are waiting for departure instructions, He Jun, head of the Zhejiang Ram Union rescue team was quoted as saying by Beijing News.

According to data from local government, about 134,000 residents of Zhuozhou had been affected by flooding as of 10 am on Tuesday. More than 120,000 residents in flood-prone places — Xiaoqing River flood detention area and Langouwa flood detention area — have been relocated to safe areas as of Tuesday afternoon.

Water volume in the city's rivers, including the Xiaoqing and Baigou rivers, has increased as floodwater rush in from upstream, the local government said, adding that the has increased the risk in urban areas.

The government has prepared relief goods and assembled 28 rescue teams with more than 8,000 members.