First-hand accounts from survivors of the Zhuozhou floods
Typhoon Doksuri hits Mainland China
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Typhoon Doksuri (台风杜苏芮 tái fēng dù sū ruì) hit Mainland China last week, bringing the country’s worst rains in 140 years.
Beijing and surrounding areas in Tianjin and Hebei experienced some of the most severe floods on record.
The small city of Zhuōzhōu 涿州, southwest of Beijing, in neighbouring Hebei Province, was one of the worst hit areas.
Zhuozhou and many of its buildings became islands surrounded by up to 8m of flood waters. Shocked residents were left stranded with no electricity or drinking water for days.
According to data published by the Beijing authorities on 9 August:
1.29 million people were affected by the floods, 59,000 properties were destroyed, a further 147,000 properties were seriously damaged, and 22.5 mu of agricultural land was flooded.
此次洪涝灾害共造成近129万人受灾，房屋倒塌5.9万间，严重损坏房屋14.7万间，农作物受灾面积22.5万亩
As the flood waters receded, accusations, allegations, and rumours still flowed on social media: the flood waters were intentionally directed towards Zhuozhou in order to save Xiong’an, and even Beijing; the China Red Cross was engaged in dodgy procurement activities in its response to the floods; and local government leaders made no public appearances or statements during the crisis.
But for this discussion, we listen in on first-hand accounts of people who were trapped for days, people who helped save others' lives, and a few brave reporters who travelled with rescue teams.
A China Southern Weekly reporter gives a first-hand account of how high the flood waters were:
Guo Yun told a China Southern Weekly reporter: 6-7m-tall traffic lights had also disappeared. Some cars were floating on the water and some were trapped between two walls, or under the roofs of collapsed buildings.
郭运向南方周末记者回忆，高度在6-7米的红绿灯，也“消失”了。一些汽车漂在水面上，另一些汽车被挤进墙缝，或是压在被冲垮的房屋之下 [1]
A rescue worker describes how they were called to Zhuozhou after hours in Beijing:
When learning of the situation in Zhuozhou, Beijing Gong Yang Rescue Team captain, Zhang Anqi, and his team were just engaging in a rescue operation in Fangshan in Beijing. As soon as they had finished in Beijing, they immediately went on to Zhuozhou.
知道涿州灾情的时候，北京公羊救援队队长张安琦正和他的队友们在北京房山进行救援。北京刚一结束，他便马不停蹄地来到涿州[3]
And an interview with a volunteer rescuer reveals how WeChat was an important tool in rescue efforts:
Some people would add me on WeChat. I accepted them all, and sent them a short message about the situation. Some people understood me whereas others would respond angrily. But I could understand because they were so desperate and helpless.
有的人他们很执着，他们加我微信我个个都通过，我必须通过，然后给他们发一段简单的文字，然后告诉他们是怎么个情况，有的人很理解，有的人会骂我一句，但我都能理解，因为他们真的很着急，特别无助 [4]
So that’s what we explore this week!
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Favourite Five
1. 揪心 jiū xīn
distressed
让我非常非常揪心，甚至想现在起床去看看 - It makes me very, very distressed, to the point that I want to get up and check now. [1]
2. 孤岛 gū dǎo
solitary island
黄小萱和她的邻居们，陷入了以家为牢的一座“孤岛” - Huang Xiaoxuan and her neighbours are trapped on a "solitary island" of their homes. [3]
Note: A phrase used in all media coverage of the floods, referring to Zhuozhou as a whole, and to individual properties which became "islands" in the flood waters.
3. 冲塌 chōng tā
wash away
等到皮筏艇返回，再次路过这里时，彩钢房已经被大水冲塌 - By the time the raft returned and passed by here again, the steel structure had already collapsed due to the flood. [1]
4. 灭顶之灾 miè dǐng zhī zāi
catastrophic disaster
洪水过境，两岸数十个村落遭遇灭顶之灾 - As the flood swept through, dozens of villages on both sides encountered a catastrophic disaster. [3]
More: Read more in this week’s China Project Phrase of the Week.
5. 丧家离所 sàng jiā lí suǒ
be displaced
她看到无数人丧家离所，老人们不愿意离开被水吞没的家 - She saw countless people being displaced, with the elderly refusing to leave their homes that were already swallowed by water. [4]
Related:
流离失所 liú lí shī suǒ - displaced, forced to leave one's home
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 受灾 shòu zāi
hit by disaster
那里是北拒马河、琉璃河和小清河交汇的地方，是涿州受灾最严重的地区之一 - It's the place where the Beijuma River, Liuli River, and Xiaoqing River converge, and one of the areas in Zhuozhou most affected by the disaster. [4]
Related:
灾情 zāi qíng - disaster situation
水情 shuǐ qíng - flood
7. 侵袭 qīn xí
invade, encroach
虽然往年雨季，献县都会不同程度地受到雨水侵袭，但这一次不同 - Although Xian County experienced varying degrees of heavy storms during the rainy season in previous years, this time it's different. [1]
Related: 来袭 lái xí - invade (of weather) - less serious than 侵袭
8. 渴盼 kě pàn
yearn for
李楠和10位家人终于等到了渴盼的救援队 - The rescue team that Li Nan and her 10 family members had been eagerly waiting for came finally. [1]
9. 执拗 zhí niù
stubborn, obstinate
让李楠担心的是，她的姐夫依然执拗地选择留在家中看守 - What worries Li Nan is that her brother-in-law stubbornly chose to stay at home. [1]
10. 洪水 hóng shuǐ
flood
历史上大多为江河洪水天然的滞蓄场所，与水库、河道及堤防等共同防控洪水 - Historically they have mostly served as natural pools for river floods, and they work together with reservoirs, river channels, and embankments to control floods. [1]
Related:
泄洪 xiè hóng - release floodwaters
11. 水势 shuǐ shì
water current, water momentum
能见度已经很低，加上水势湍急，当地通知救援人员撤离 - The visibility is already very low, and coupled with the swift water current, local authorities asked rescue teams to evacuate. [1]
Related:
雨势 yǔ shì - intensity of rainfall
地势 dì shì - terrain, topography (势 here means ‘form’, and not ‘situation’ as in the previous two words)
12. 避灾 bì zāi
seek refuge during or after a disaster
避灾的时候把外地人撇开，要钱的时候让外地人捐，天底下没有这样的道理 - During disaster evacuation, they ignore non-locals; when they need money, they ask outsiders to donate. There's no logic in the world that operates this way. [2]
Related:
避险 bì xiǎn - seek safety, avoid risks
Three-character phrases
13. 死胡同 sǐ hú tong
dead end, impasse
他也无法从高处跳窗——他陷进了一个“死胡同” - He couldn't jump from the high place either - he was trapped in a "dead end". [3]
14. 报平安 bào píng ān
report safety, let someone know you're safe
徐女士能做的是，不定时开关机，和远在广州出差的丈夫报平安 - All Ms. Xu could do was to turn her phone on and off to let her husband, who was away on a business trip in Guangzhou, know she was safe. [3]
15. 水乡人 shuǐ xiāng rén
people who live near water
我们去了五十艘船，是土生土长的水乡人 - We sent fifty boats; we are natives of the water town. [4]
Idioms
16. 不止不休 bù zhǐ bù xiū
incessant, relentless
大雨和洪水不止不休 - The heavy rain and floodwaters are relentless. [3]
17. 接踵而来 jiē zhǒng ér lái
one after another, in quick succession
更大的灾难接踵而来 - Even bigger disasters are coming one after another. [3]
18. 马不停蹄 mǎ bù tíng tí
without stopping, non-stop
北京刚一结束，他便马不停蹄地来到涿州 - As soon as the mission in Beijing ended, he immediately came to Zhuozhou without taking a break. [3]
19. 有气无力 yǒu qì wú lì
weakly, without energy
她给我发了个语音，说话有气无力的，她说我先去睡一会儿，我去吃点东西，我说你赶紧歇会儿 - She sent me a voice message, speaking weakly. She said she's going to rest for a bit and grab something to eat. I told her to take a break. [4]
20. 感同身受 gǎn tóng shēn shòu
empathise, share the same feelings
这次不一样，这次我感同身受，好像我就是他们一样 - This time is different. This time I feel them, as if I were experiencing it myself. [4]
21. 偷梁换柱 tōu liáng huàn zhù
steal a beam and change a post; deceptive and fraudulent behaviour
这还仅仅是审计出来的问题，还有多少借着流程合规的名义瞒天过海偷梁换柱 - These are just the problems revealed through the audit. How many more cases are there where they secretly misuse the fund under the guise of following procedures and regulations? [5]
22. 炉火纯青 lú huǒ chún qīng
mastered to perfection, reached a high level of proficiency
当你把官僚主义和形式主义玩得炉火纯青时，必然也要谨防它的反噬 - When you've mastered bureaucracy and formalism to perfection, you must also be cautious of their backlash. [2]
Note: Used ironically here.
Phrases
23. 吃相太难看 chī xiàng tài nán kàn
unsightly behaviour, unseemly appearance
现在水灾还没结束，就急吼吼的让大家捐钱，吃相未免太难看了些 - The flood is not over yet, and they're clamoring for donations in a hurry. Such behaviour is quite unseemly. [4]
More: From a Shanghai dialect, which we learned in xxx newsletter.
24. 大水之后必有灾，大灾之后必有妖 dà shuǐ zhī hòu bì yǒu zāi, dà zāi zhī hòu bì yǒu yāo.
after a great flood, there will inevitably be calamities; after a great calamity, there will inevitably be problems
大水之后必有灾，大灾之后必有妖。这是古人总结出来的经验，没想到今天仍然灵验 - After a great flood, calamities will follow; after a great calamity, anomalies will arise. This is wisdom derived from the experiences of our ancestors, and it's surprising that it still holds true today. [5]
Note: Referring to opportunists, corrupt officials, companies, charities abusing the system.
25. 欺人如欺天 qī rén rú qī tiān
deceiving people is like deceiving the heavens, deceiving others is self-deception
不是不能捐款，而是如何监管。欺人如欺天， 毋自欺也；负民即负国，何忍负之 - It's not that they should not ask for donations, but rather how they are supervised. Deceiving people is like deceiving the heavens, and deceiving oneself is a disgrace. If we let down the people, we let down the nation. How can we bear to do so? [5]
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