Chapter 748: Chapter 506 Clash of Winds and Rains - Encounter (Part 1)
Back at the Water Police Station, I closed the door and reported the findings to Director Wang, Political Commissioner Ma, and Zhao Hongxing.
Regarding the possibility of a transfer to Changhang Branch in the future, it’s far from a done deal, so Director Qi didn’t feel it was right to ntion it to Director Wang and others, and neither did they give any clear indication, but their attitudes have noticeably eased.
In a hurry, I returned to the Linghai Developnt Zone Managent Committee and reported the situation over the phone to Director Zhou in front of Deputy Mayor Shen.
Director Zhou’s stance, just like Deputy Mayor Shen’s, was clear: Changhang Branch transforming Bailong Port Police Station into Linghai Police Station was no issue, and Changhang Branch taking over the security managent of Linghai Port District was also fine, but there was absolutely no way Linghai would pay salaries to the police officers of Linghai Police Station like the Port Authority does.
It’s not easy being a diator, and this is as much as can be done for now.
Regardless of who will take over the security and firefighting duties of Linghai Port District in the future, Linghai Port must establish an enterprise fire brigade according to regulations. Han Yu could no longer afford to play the diator and organized a firefighting training for the mbers of the Cooperative Defense Team stationed by the river, as planned.
They are currently auxiliary forces for maintaining riverside security, and once the port is completed, they will beco enterprise firefighters of Linghai Port.
However, before the enterprise fire brigade of Linghai Port was combat-ready, several cargo ships waiting to pass through the Jianghai River Lock outside caught fire due to hot weather and aging electrical circuits.
Unit 001 was dispatched to organize the firefighting efforts.
Speaking of which, once it started, the fires beca uncontrollable.
At the Yingchuan Port anchorage, a sea vessel waiting for the tide to transport to Binjiang Port caught fire. All available water firefighting resources were summoned, and with the help of the "Integrated Supply Ship," the blaze was finally put out after six arduous hours.
Then, a fire broke out on an inland river cargo ship in the waters of Shuzhou Port.
...
In just one month, nine fires occurred, resulting in economic losses of over twenty million yuan.
Just when everyone was exhausted, my father-in-law called. Typhoon No. 11 had ford in the Pacific Ocean and was moving towards Zhehai, with the typhoon center’s winds exceeding a twelfth level.
Right after hanging up my father-in-law’s call, the Port Supervision Bureau and Linghai City Flood Control Command issued a typhoon forecast. Han Yu and others imdiately switched from firefighting mode to typhoon and flood prevention mode, truly blending fire and water.
"Uncle Ding, where are the wooden piles? Where are the sacks?"
"The sacks have been delivered and are in the warehouse, but the wood hasn’t arrived yet."
"Hurry up and find a truck to haul them; otherwise, we’ll be too late."
"Too late?"
With the river calm, Old Ding thought Han Yu was being a bit paranoid.
Han Yu anxiously asked while looking at the tidal gauge that had just been installed outside the shipyard’s dam, "What’s the lunar date today?"
Old Ding thought for a mont and replied, "The thirteenth day of the seventh lunar month."
"That explains it. In two days, on the fifteenth of the lunar month, there will be a spring tide."
"What’s a spring tide?"
"It’s the ocean tide! The sea is about to rise."
"What does the rising sea tide have to do with us? We’re far from the ocean."
"It’s a big deal. As the sea tide rises, river water can’t flow into the sea, and the Yangtze River’s water level will surge. If it rains heavily for two more days, the rivers on both banks will drain into the river. It’s not just the dam that may give way; even the river embanknts could be flooded!"
With both typhoon and tidal surge approaching, this is no small matter.
Han Yu turned around and pointed to the migrant workers and construction vehicles inside the shipyard, asserting without doubt, "Imdiately organize a team to reinforce the dam. Be fast! All construction vehicles and machinery at the bottom must be brought up; it’s not safe down there."
Old Ding had never seen Han Yu so serious and instinctively reached for his phone to call the Bosses.
Han Yu took another look at the river and added, "If there’s a typhoon, there will be rain. The reinforced dam might stop the river, but not the rainwater. Relying solely on the few dozen pumps we have now for groundwater isn’t enough; find so large water pumps quickly to be ready for ergency drainage."
"The dock chamber is so large and deep; even with several high-powered pumps, we won’t be able to drain it in ti if it rains heavily for days."
"I’ll help coordinate with the Waterway Engineering Bureau and Marine Bureau. If necessary, ask them to bring over their engineering vessels and use the silt pumps to assist in pumping the water out."
Han Yu turned to look at the vast shipyard construction site and reminded, "While reinforcing the dam, promptly organize people to dig drainage ditches around the shipyard. We can’t stop the rain from above, and we can’t let water on the bank flow back into the dock."
Having invested so much, Old Ding didn’t want it to be for naught and hastily responded, "Alright, I’ll arrange it now."
"Have soone keep an eye on the tidal gauge and call
imdiately if there is any situation."
"Got it."
After inspecting the shipyard construction site for typhoon and flood prevention, Han Yu returned to the Dunship only to find Deputy Mayor Shen and Tang Wentai had hurried over.
"Mayor Shen, what brings you here in person?"
"An ergency notice was just issued at the provincial level, requiring heads of cities, districts, counties, towns, and villages to halt all other work imdiately and put typhoon and flood prevention asures in place!" Deputy Mayor Shen leaned in to look towards the shipyard and asked, "How’s the situation at the shipyard?"
"I just made the arrangents; President Ding is expediting the implentation."
"What about the Jianghai River Harbor?"
"I visited it this morning; the construction site doesn’t have major issues. After all, the main work there is dredging, but there are safety risks with the lock embanknt, river embanknt, and harbor embanknt."
"What risks?"
"This typhoon is different from previous ones. It coincides with the astronomical high tide on the lunar July 15th. The typhoon and tidal surge will strike simultaneously, which will certainly cause a dramatic rise in the Yangtze River’s water levels. Our lock embanknt, harbor embanknt, and river embanknt are neither high enough nor strong enough."
"Let’s go; show ."
...
There are no trivial matters in typhoon and flood prevention.
All city leaders at ho went to the front lines personally.
The first order issued by the City Flood Control Command was to quickly stop all irrigation pump stations from drought relief pumping and be prepared for drainage.
The second order was to fully open the sluices of the water conservancy projects along the Yangtze River, discharging the water from the inland rivers into the river, to lower the levels of the inland rivers as much as possible before the typhoon arrived.
However, the inland rivers were interconnected in all directions, even linking to the Liu Xia River Waterway near Si Gang. Despite the several drainage stations along the Yangtze River discharging water into the river day and night, there was hardly any noticeable drop in the water levels of the inland rivers.
The third order was for Party cadres and basic civilians to organize the masses to reinforce the sea dykes and river embanknts...
Linghai has both a river and the coast. If the river embanknt were to breach, the losses would be imnse, and if the sea dyke collapsed, seawater would backflow leading to even greater losses.
While everyone was busy defending against the approaching typhoon, anti-flood command relayed a shocking piece of news. Typhoon No. 11, an extrely strong typhoon, had made landfall in Taizhou City, Zhehai Province, where the violent winds had breached the sea walls, turning Taizhou into a city of water!
And as predicted, the astronomical tides had also arrived. The tidal level at the Tiansheng Port Hydrological Station had reached the historical high of 7.53 ters; downstream of Tiansheng Port, the entire line had gone over the historical high by 0.18 to 0.45 ters!
Although the center of the typhoon was in Zhehai and had not yet reached us, winds and rain had already begun in Linghai, with a downpour lasting over four hours.
Wind, rain, and tide "et up," and the river waters were now level with the shipyard dam!
Seeing the dam being slowly devoured by the waves, with the massively invested shipyard project at the brink of being destroyed by the flood, everyone on site felt heartbroken.
There was only one thought on everyone’s mind: to save the dam by any ans necessary.
Han Yu climbed onto a loader, braving the torrential rain to transport bags of soil-filled sandbags by the truckload onto the dam. Old Ding was going all out; finding the raincoat inconvenient for work, he took it off and led the workers in driving stakes and carrying stones...
Han Xiangning and Ningning, along with the Sanhe Port Patrol Team leader Sister Ling, conducted a last patrol on the river before the typhoon arrived, reminding passing ships to imdiately seek refuge in the Jianghai River Harbor, and checking the mooring conditions of large vessels at the river anchorage.
When the Supervision Boat passed by the shipyard waters, Sister Ling clearly saw Han Yu working in the rain and couldn’t help asking, "Ningning, does your Salted Fish know how to operate a bulldozer?"
"That’s not a bulldozer, that’s a loader."
"How does he know how to operate a loader?"
"He used to work on a bulk carrier of the Marine Bureau; when coal or ore was not unloaded cleanly, they would hoist a loader into the ship’s hold to clear it out. He learned by watching others."
"He knows how to do a lot!"
"He can operate a crane too."
Han Xiangning couldn’t continue the conversation, watching through the rapidly spinning Kent window in the driver’s cabin the heavy rain pouring outside, she pulled out her phone to call Bailong Port Police Station.
"Captain Chen, it’s Xiangning. How high is the water on your side?"
"It’s almost flooding the waiting area. Secretary Chen of Four Factory Town is currently organizing nearby villagers to help us build a second line of defense with sandbags."
"What about my brother-in-law?"
"He is working right now. I ca back to change my phone’s battery. I’ll also go to fight the floods in a bit."
"Will our living quarters be flooded?"
Master Chen realized what she was worried about, wiped off the sweat, and quickly said: "I asked your mom and your master’s wife to go to Xiao Yu’s place. Xiao Yu’s house is at a higher elevation, and it’s a building; no matter how high the water rises, it won’t reach Xiao Yu’s house."
Han Xiangning finally let out a sigh of relief and said, "With that, I am at ease. If you see my mom and master’s wife, please pass on a ssage for , saying that San’er and I won’t be able to co back today."
"I know. We have to fight the floods here, and you have to do the sa over there."
Chen Zikun hung up, put the freshly charged phone into a plastic bag, and imdiately went back out to continue working.
...
The river embanknt is very dangerous, with the raging river water nearly level with the dike.
By comparison, the sea dike is even more dangerous. Secretary Ye is personally directing the operations at San Zao Port’s sea dike.
Master Chen of the Water Resources Bureau has faced many dangers in his life, but he has never been as nervous and afraid as he is today.
They say Linghai is close to but not fond of the Yangtze River. In fact, it is the sa with the sea – because the coast is an endless mudflat, there is normally no sight of seawater.
But today, not only is the seawater visible, but it is also high, and the waves fierce.
A single wave crashes over, sweeping from one side of the sea dike to the other!
The strong winds on the sea dike make it impossible for people to stand and walk on the dike; one would undoubtedly be blown into the sea if they tried walking, so people had to crawl.
The torrential rain hamred down, each drop hitting like hailstones, causing pain!
The third layer of sandbags on the surface of the first sea dike had been breached, and the waves had reached the middle of the second layer in so places,
With the situation growing increasingly urgent.
Master Chen watched more and more anxiously, nearly crawling to reach Secretary Ye and clutching his arm tightly, saying, "Secretary Ye, this can’t go on, we won’t be able to hold the first sea dike!"
Wiping what was either rain or sea spray from his face, Secretary Ye swiftly surveyed the surroundings, bit his teeth hard, and braving the storm, shouted through a gaphone: "Comrades, like you, I want to do everything possible to save the sea dike. However, if the sea dike is breached by the waves and seawater pours in, the over a thousand cadres and the public present would surely perish!
What would the cost be? What would the consequences be? They are unimaginable! The Provincial Committee requires us to take all asures to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property, life is of utmost importance, and people’s safety cos first. As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no lack of firewood. Now heed my order, evacuate imdiately!"
"Secretary Ye..."
"I’ll say it again, evacuate imdiately!"
After fighting for over day and night, with their hos right behind them, no one wanted to withdraw. But with the order given by the secretary, they could only drag their exhausted bodies to retreat.
Watching the cadres and the public evacuate, Secretary Ye and Master Chen and the others did not leave.
They were not at ease, worried about the state of the Command Center, insisting on returning to check.
By the ti they reached the command post, which was at a relatively higher elevation but also windier, and looked back, the first sea dike had rged with the sea surface and the place they had just stood had beco a vast expanse of water.
The section of the dike strengthened by human efforts in the past day and night was hit by a wave, and with a snap, it collapsed, as if scooped out by a huge excavator.
Watching the waves continuously erode chunks of the dike soil, one can’t help but think of a phrase: looking out at the sea with a heavy heart.
And at that mont, one can only feel that way.
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