Simulation Game: Crisis Management-Chapter 289 - 149: Devoured by the Torrential Rain (Part 2)

It was precisely because of these few professional terms that the operator paid attention, leaving a message to hold on.

He then connected Gu Ji to an expert in the disaster management department's crisis management team.

After waiting nearly a minute again, the person who answered the call this time was a woman named Fatima Yami, a specialist in tropical cyclones, heavy rains, and floods within the crisis management team. The other side seemed to be busy with her work as Gu Ji could clearly hear the sound of her flipping through pages.

So, he repeated the information he had conveyed to the operator just now.

This was already the fourth time he had repeated the emphasis on the heavy rain and flood crisis today.

After listening, Fatima did not respond immediately but instead searched through some documents.

"Mr. Vidhi, first of all, I really admire your level of professional knowledge, but Assam is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and Dispur is located in the central northern part of the state. Even if there truly is a deep low-pressure system landing from the Bengal Bay, it has to pass through neighboring Bangladesh, covering a distance of at least 500 kilometers to reach the north of the state."

"You should also know that the wind speed of a low-pressure system only reaches 41 to 62 kilometers per hour, belonging to the strong wind category, typically lacking an eye of the storm and without the tight organization and structure presented by higher-level tropical cyclones. Its cloud systems and thunderstorm bands are very loose, fundamentally unable to sustain it across such a long distance, and even if it reaches Dispur, it would have already been significantly weakened, not causing large-scale heavy rain disasters."

"Theoretically, it is indeed like this. But have you considered the atmospheric climate environment?"

Faced with Fatima's rebuttal, Gu Ji was not at a loss for words. On the contrary, his central nervous system quickly activated, and cases of natural disasters and their causes all emerged before his mind's eye:

"Every year, India experiences its monsoon and post-monsoon season in September and October, with frequent thunderstorm and heavy rain events. Disasters such as landslides and floods occur often, and from the early 20th century to 2018, India's average temperature increased by about 0.7°C. Global warming has led to rising temperatures, which in turn causes an increase in water vapor, resulting in strong rainfall during India's monsoon season, as pointed out in a report by the Potsdam Climate Impact Research Institute that global warming has strengthened the monsoon in India."

"Another factor of global warming is the reduced snow cover in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. According to the Xia Science Institute Atmospheric and Environmental Comprehensive Observation Station, in the winters of 2017 and 2018, the snow cover area in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was 22.2% less than the climate average. This reduction in snow cover can cause stronger surface sensible heat and upward motion in the spring and summer seasons, facilitating the upward propagation of sensible heat flux, further enhancing the tropospheric temperature, causing a greater thermal contrast between the plateau and the ocean, strengthening the monsoon meridional circulation, and ultimately leading to a strengthened monsoon environment."

"Animals are always the best disaster warning system. Even the Indian bison, which is excellent in water, is fleeing the northern parts of the state, and flocks of birds are migrating south, indicating that rivers in the north of the state have already begun to flood, seriously impacting the biological ecological environment. Shouldn't this sound an alarm?"

As soon as the words were spoken, Fatima had the same reaction as the operator:

Silence.

The other party seemed unable to believe that Gu Ji's professional knowledge on meteorological disasters was so abundant, even reaching the height of global climate change. He used this point to deduce the strengthening of the Indian monsoon step by step, with clear thinking and tight logic, almost flawless.

You have to know.

Assam is right at the foot of the Himalayas, so it is greatly affected by the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

"Mr. Vidhi, what is your full name? Where do you work?"

"Vidhi Dali, State Agricultural Department, County Office, Assam!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"The Agricultural Department, no wonder. I have your phone number recorded. I will head to the meteorological monitoring station and the water resources department in the northern part of the state immediately to investigate river flooding situations. If I find any anomalies, I will certainly notify you at once!"

"Notifying me is useless. The key lies in whether the state government's existing resources, manpower, and medical facilities are capable of handling a large-scale heavy rain and flood crisis. Just an orange warning for heavy rain has already kept the district fire department busy beyond capacity. If a flood truly occurs, wouldn't the entire Assam be paralyzed?"

Even without discussing disaster prevention experience in the field of natural disasters, Gu Ji deeply understands the importance of personnel and materials after experiencing the cruise checkpoint.

Sometimes a bottle of medical alcohol, a set of protective clothing, could save a life;

When it comes to natural disasters, a life jacket, a can of compressed food, might involve the fate of an entire family!

To speak frankly, in terms of professional meteorological knowledge, Gu Ji is in fact no match for Fatima. The reason he could mention so much was merely due to expanding on the "standard answer" because his mission target clearly stated that Assam is a disaster area.

So whatever he said, the result was always correct.

At this point in the conversation, Fatima realized that the other side not only possessed real knowledge but also had rich practical experience. She repeatedly emphasized she would carry out investigation arrangements and then hurriedly hung up the phone.

Gu Ji looked down at the torrential rain flowing below, closed the window, and returned to bed.

This was already his limit of what he could accomplish; for a small incident or man-made conflict, he might still be able to rush in alone and save a few people. But for a medium-scale public health event, it requires gathering ten or more medical staff to help, establishing quarantine, treatment, and observation areas, etc.

When facing a large-scale disaster, not just one person, but even tens or hundreds of people are merely futile against the wrath of nature unless government departments, volunteers, and the military are involved.

"Now we can only wait for that message from Fatima…"

From the afternoon, when he avoided the Bengal tiger, to continuously circling around to procure supplies, Gu Ji, dragging his fatigued nerves, slowly closed his eyelids.

"Help!"

"Bari bari, run quickly!"

...

Gu Ji suddenly opened his eyes, his heart pounding.

He was awoken by cries for help in his sleep.

Looking at his wrist, the familiar Volut watch showed the time: 5:17, and outside the window, it was gloomy, with the continuous sound of "pitter-patter" raindrops indicating the heavy rain had lasted all night.

Rubbing his eyes, Gu Ji rid himself of fatigue momentarily with a yawn.

Took out his phone; the meteorological station had sent another message in the middle of the night:

"Red warning signal for heavy rain: In the past 1-2 hours, the central region of Assam received 60 mm of rainfall; another 40-60 mm rainfall is expected in the next 1-2 hours. Pay attention to urban flooding and road traffic safety; issued by Assam Meteorological Station on October 11, 2024, at 3:43 AM."

"Sure enough, a red warning for heavy rain was issued!"

He dared not imagine how terrifying it would be for such a rainstorm to continue overnight. Hastily, he flipped out of bed; there was no time to wash his face, gulped a large mouthful of water, put on the waterproof underground workwear he bought yesterday, grabbed his backpack, and munched on a biscuit while heading downstairs.

Unexpectedly, just as he reached the third floor, he ran into a middle-aged man dressed in a white robe from the second floor, the hotel owner who had taken him to his room yesterday.

At first, the owner didn't recognize Gu Ji in his outfit, but he reacted afterward.

Seeing him carrying a backpack intending to go downstairs, he raised his hands and waved them continuously, shaking his head, saying:

"Sir! Sir! For your safety, please don't go downstairs right now; the streets below are completely flooded, and you might drown if you go out!"

"Thank you, but I must go out, though I hope you keep my room reserved!"

Compared to the rise in urban water levels due to the heavy rain, Gu Ji was more worried about his room; during a great disaster, finding a safe shelter was not easy.

After bidding farewell to the hotel owner,

Gu Ji reached the ground floor, where murky brown sewage had already flooded the staircase, preliminarily estimating it at nearly half a meter deep, no wonder the owner didn't want him to go out.

You must know, this is one of the highest areas in Dispur City.

Even half a meter was flooded here, and he dared not imagine what the low-lying areas would be submerged into.

"Swoosh…"

Stepping into the water with his rubber boots, the resistance from the water made his walking slightly difficult. Fortunately, he quickly adapted to this water-treading method on foot after acquiring marine combat training skills.

After leaving the hotel,

The rain outside still fell, though it was significantly lighter than last night's rainstorm. As far as the eye could see, the whole alley was submerged under water, a vast ocean, with only the tips of some low-rise buildings visible in the distance.

In the water, countless drenched, dark-skinned passersby were transporting furniture or sandbags, seemingly trying to prevent the water from entering their homes, but it was ultimately in vain; many were also pushing bicycles or carrying packages on their heads, trying to make it to work.

"Has the State Disaster Management Department not yet issued a statement for the state-wide suspension of classes and work?"

Just as Gu Ji was wondering,

"Ah—!"