China floods: the struggle to rescue desperate, stranded villagers
- Efforts to save residents of Xiayuan, just north of Xinxiang in central China and almost cut off from the outside world, are under way
- Just getting to the region from Beijing is an ordeal, as roads and railways have been flooded and even airports have been disrupted
Zhang Wen was sitting on the roof of his house, holding his two children. The waters had engulfed the whole village. He decided to swim out.
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Flood-hit residents of China’s Henan province rescued after being trapped for three days
When photographer Simon Song and I arrived at the scene on Friday, Zhang had just made it out, wearing only his trousers. He grabbed instant noodles brought by a relative who came to help and began eating by the road, the first meal he had consumed in two days.
“I want to find a kayak and go back home to pick up my family,” he said.
The only roads to Zhang’s village had been submerged in floodwaters that went above his head. The dozens of people rescued by a team of firefighters that had just reached the scene – and others, like Zhang, who had been able to get out themselves – were still in a panic.
Because of limited resources for the rescue, trucks and kayaks began to carry children and the elderly out first, leaving behind thousands of exhausted villagers.