Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 999 - 658: Turning Point!

Deputy Mayor Shen is not only the Deputy Mayor of Linghai but also the head of the Linghai Development Zone, so he has two offices in Linghai.

At eight in the morning, he arrived early at the office on the third floor of the City Government, glanced at the newspaper delivered by the government office, and finally truly understood what "no surprise means a surprise"!

While wondering what Salted Fish and the others were doing, Deputy Director Xiao Liu from the City Committee Office Secretary Section called and invited him to Secretary Ye's office.

The Linghai Municipal Committee and City Government operate within the same compound.

Deputy Mayor Shen hurried to Secretary Ye's office and was startled to find Mayor Qian there as well.

"Shen Fan, have you read today's newspaper?"

"Just glanced at it, haven't had the chance to read it thoroughly."

"The flood prevention situation in Beihu is very grim. In fact, it's not just Beihu; Nanhu and Xijiang are the same," Secretary Ye sighed, putting down the newspaper.

An unprecedented torrential downpour had plunged Hanwu's three towns into vast waterlogging and overnight drew the attention of the entire nation to Hanwu.

Yesterday morning, when the rain had just started, the People's Daily published a report using the term "once in a century"!

Major media across the country repeatedly reported images of Hanwu citizens crossing streets as if crossing rivers and riding buses as if they were boats, almost everyone knew about it.

"Hanwu is urgent," "Jingjiang is urgent," "Jiujiang is urgent"; pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV, and all you see or hear is "urgent"!

Even more distressing is that this is not just a news event but a weather event. Since yesterday afternoon, it has started raining in many places in the Yangtze River Basin, including Linghai with its constant drizzle.

National Flood Control Headquarters issued an emergency notice requiring "strict prevention and defense," and "three guarantees" among other requests are frequently mentioned.

It can be said that the past day was a turning point; beginning with the torrential rain still pouring in Hanwu, flooding has ceased to be the affair of just a few provinces and has become a national issue, moreover, a top priority!

The entire nation is focused on flood control, concerned about it, and supporting it!

...

In seven days, it will be August, when Linghai and other coastal areas will face the astronomical tide.

If it continues to rain like this in the Yangtze River Basin, Linghai will face a more severe flood, torrential rain, and tide this year than last.

Mayor Qian is worried about the Linghai Soldiers supporting flood control in Beihu and is even more worried about the flood prevention situation in Linghai, furrowing his brows and saying, "The heavy rain in Hanwu tells us that flooding is fierce, cunning, and extremely testing the endurance. Especially in years of abnormal climate, one must not relax vigilance just because the storm weakens or temporarily pauses."

Secretary Ye nodded in agreement, lighting a cigarette and saying, "As long as summer is not over and the monsoon hasn't left the Yangtze River Basin, we must stay alert at all times."

The situation has greatly changed.

Superior was very concerned about flood prevention before but not as much as now, and now even the central government is proposing to protect great Hanwu!

When one place is in difficulty, every place provides support.

Previously, many places supported severely affected provinces like Beihu, but now not only is there nationwide support, but overseas Chinese are starting to donate, truly contributing financially and physically.

Deputy Mayor Shen feels like a deserter, asking with a bitter smile, "Secretary Ye, Mayor Qian, did I return at the wrong time?"

"You didn't know the flood would come back when you returned, and besides, you returned early with Old Qian and my approval."

"Should I go back?"

"Now that you've returned, there's no need to rush back, the current priority is to fight the flood, we cannot just help others while our home gets flooded."

Secretary Ye tapped out the cigarette ash and continued, "Last night, the Provincial Committee and Provincial Government issued another notice requiring strict prevention and defense, repeatedly emphasizing responsibility assigned to individuals. You returned just in time; starting today, flood prevention in the development zone section is handed over to you."

Deputy Mayor Shen nodded, "Alright."

"Investment attraction shouldn't slacken either, especially the Hailuo Cement project, assist them in quickly settling in."

"I understand."

"By the way, have you contacted Salted Fish today?"

"No, he's too busy to call me. I also don't want to call and disturb his emergency command, but Old Ge called me early today."

Mayor Qian asked in a low voice, "How are things over there?"

Deputy Mayor Shen hurriedly reported, "The embankment repairs there are not as good as ours, most of Jingjiang Embankment's base is gravel, and there's a depression formed by previous breaches behind the embankment, many sections have both external floodwaters and internal waterlogging accumulation, making the already non-solid dike soaked for so long.

What's more concerning is that over 20 kilometers of embankment without river dikes or low beaches stand alone in the water, without support, soaked for long periods they can collapse anytime.

Biological damage to the embankment is also serious, for instance, termites, snakes, badgers, mice, and other animals make the sections riddled with holes. Every time the water level rises, piping or leaks emerge continuously."

Yesterday Secretary Ye held a meeting in Binjiang, and Mayor Qian went to the townships for inspections; this is Deputy Mayor Shen's first encounter with his two direct superiors since returning.

Deputy Mayor Shen tried to report comprehensively, took out his notebook, looked at the records he made in Jingzhou, and continued, "This year's flood hasn't completely receded, in fact, it's getting more severe, the number of issues hasn't been fully accounted for.

In 1954, there were over 2,440 issues on the Jingjiang Embankment alone, including 125 landslides, 51 cracks, 315 muddy leaks, 1,408 clearwater leaks, 33 wave crashes, 68 piping incidents, 235 seepages, and 162 depressions...