Knee-deep in fierce weather, nation pulls together
Rescuers, safety measures ready as storms, typhoons strike across country
When Yang, a villager in the southern part of Zhejiang province, arrived home at 7 am on Saturday after receiving a phone call from her neighbors, floodwater was already knee-deep in the concrete square outside her house.
She waded through the muddy water to reach her residence in Jingren village, Yongjia county, only to watch the level continue rising.
"Our house sits on slightly higher ground, so the damage wasn't too bad," Yang told Qianjiang Evening News. "But the three houses next door are on lower ground. The water almost reached the height of the first floor. I even saw gas cylinders being swept away by the flood."
In neighboring Yueqing county on Friday night, wind and rain pounded against the glass walls of the Civic Activity Center as Typhoon Bavi headed for its second landfall.
Inside, where 500 people took shelter, the atmosphere was calm.
Rows of folding beds lined the hallways. Bottled water, instant noodles, medical supplies and emergency lighting had all been prepared. Volunteers moved quietly among evacuees, while doctors checked on elderly residents and police officers patrolled the shelter through the night, Xinhua News Agency reported.
"It's such a relief," a carpenter surnamed Li told Xinhua after being evacuated from a nearby construction site.
When work was suspended earlier that day, he had worried whether the temporary dormitory where he lived could withstand the approaching typhoon.
Now, lying in the cool air conditioning of the converted shelter, he said, "I finally feel at ease."
Outside, sandbags sealed the entrances against floodwater while wooden boards reinforced doors and windows. Inside, generators, emergency lights, food, drinking water and medicine stood ready.
As violent gusts shook the building and glass panels hummed under the pressure of the wind, many evacuees felt secure enough to get some sleep.
"That wind is really strong," one elderly man murmured before pulling his blanket tighter and drifting back to sleep, Xinhua reported.
