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Nature only partially to blame for flooding woes
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RAIN and floods are the subject du jour of late. This past Wednesday my car was stuck in the rain in Beijing as part of a long line of traffic unable to drive through a pool of rainwater at a major road junction. I sat in the car for one hour, and the incessant rainfall only added to my anxiety. Some drivers ventured out to take pictures; probably for Wechat Moment. I was in no mood for carpool karaoke.
One tragic memory is still fresh for many people living in Beijing: just a few years ago, also in July, some people were drowned either in basements suddenly flooded by torrential rainfall, or in cars that were inundated by water at low points of road. Lessons have surely been learned. This time around GPS maps issued flooded road junction alerts. And there was significantly less traffic as many people took precaution and opted not to drive.
Beijing has severe water shortage. A friend told me that before the rain last week, Beijing had gone dry for quite a long time this year. She has a small garden with vegetables and trees, and keeps a keen eye on the weather. Rain should be a boon. But when there’s a big storm, Beijing seems to falter with symptoms such as worsening road traffic, flooded metro stations, and water-logged basements. Much has been said about the sewage system in Chinese cities. Beijing’s clearly has room for improvement. Well-designed infrastructure is of utmost importance to people’s lives and societal efficiency, because you never know how wild nature can become.
In 1999, a high-magnitude typhoon hit Xiamen City, in south China’s Fujian Province, bringing ferocious winds and torrential downpours. I was a journalist back then and was sent to the streets to report. As debris flew around, I ducked behind a sheltered corner. A pick-up truck tried to continue its journey by daring the headwinds, but was lifted up and turned upside down. When the typhoon subsided, several thousand trees had been pulled from the ground.
The precipitation was of historic levels, and the fish farms of many farmers in my village saw their water level rise over their banks to become like one big farm. The fishes broke free to swim wherever they wanted, and some were caught by people who felt like eating something that no one could claim ownership on. The majority of the fish just disappeared into the creek that had by then turned into a roaring river. Insurance was not something the farmers had even heard of. Farmers are one of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to the fickle temperament of the nature.
But nature is not the only culprit in some cases.
Torrential rains during July 18-21 caused a river to break its banks and flood 12 villages in Hebei Province, taking the lives of many villagers. News pictures show that the riverbed had been affected by certain man-made projects and significantly narrows in width when it approaches the villages. A local official was cited as defining the case as a natural disaster, but he will have hard time arguing against the hard facts presented by the pictures.
Chen Weixian is a senior corporate manager in Beijing.
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