Chapter 749: Chapter 507: Wind, Tides, and Rain Converge (Part Two)
At 3:24 PM, when the sun should be shining brightly, it had already gone dark because of the sudden storm and torrential rain.
The latest report from the Provincial Defense Command stated that the typhoon was wreaking havoc in the Zhehai region with the center of the typhoon exceeding twelfth level winds, causing massive damage wherever it went. Four hundred and five kiloters of seawalls in Taizhou were almost completely collapsed, and the city has been subrged!
Han Xiangning has been working by the river and experienced ten typhoons, but has never felt as tense as today. Watching the torrential rain outside and the rising swirling river water, she felt incredibly insignificant in the face of nature.
The wind on the river was at least level six, making it impossible for the Supervision Boat to set out.
Captain Wu, Old Ge, and other male comrades were braving the storm to inspect the pontoon bridges and to ensure the safety of boats anchored beside the Dunship, including 001 and the Supervision Boat,
which again served as the command center for typhoon and flood defense, though this ti it was managed by the Developnt Zone Managent Committee.
Deputy Mayor Shen and other leaders from the developnt zone were on the riverbank, while she and Sister Yang from the party and governnt office of the committee stayed behind to relay commands issued from their superiors.
She had just received the report from the Provincial Defense Command forwarded by Binjiang City and was preparing to report to Deputy Mayor Shen through the walkie-talkie when she heard Director Huang’s voice in the high-frequency radio from the Traffic Control Center.
"Han Chief, Han Chief, this is Huang Youyu from the Traffic Control Center, please respond."
"Received, Director Huang, please proceed."
"The Xuzhou 3012 Fleet at the special waterway 24 in Yingchuan Port downstream has three tugboats out of control due to the wind snapping the towing cables, injuring two crew mbers and one crew mber has fallen overboard, 001 is the closest to the incident site, can you ask Director Yu if he can proceed with the rescue?"
"He is currently fighting the flood on the dam, doesn’t Binjiang Port have tugboats?"
"All the tugboats at Binjiang Port are being used for flood control; they were requisitioned by the City Flood Control Command. With such strong winds and the Supervision Boat unable to launch, you are our only hope."
"Received, I’ll ask him right now."
"Move quickly, the wind and rain are getting worse. The fleet’s lead tug can only manage the other uncontrolled tugboats at the mont, and the uncontrolled tugboats are at risk of capsizing at any ti."
"Understood!"
...
Saving lives is of utmost urgency, like fighting fire.
Upon receiving the information, Han Yu imdiately instructed Captain Fan and Old Zhu to prepare the car, inford Old Ding, Boss Wang, and Boss Wu, who were busy reinforcing the dam, then he took Ma Jintao, Yang Yong, and "Land God" back to the Dunship.
With high winds and rough waves on the river, 001 couldn’t move quickly.
By the ti they reached the incident area, it was 4:40 PM, and using the searchlight on the boat, they could clearly see a 200-ton tugboat spinning on the river.
They cautiously moved closer and threw over a rope.
The crew mbers, who had resigned themselves to fate, quickly caught it and tied the towing cable tightly despite the storm.
The wind was too strong; they could only rescue one boat at a ti, towing the first tugboat to Yingchuan Port Lock channel, untying the ropes before heading to rescue the second.
They were busy until around 7:30 PM when they finally located the third tugboat, which had run aground in the river. The angle of the grounding was very "tricky," and 001 alone couldn’t pull it out; they could only rescue the crew for now.
As for the crew mber who fell overboard, more than two hours had passed since he fell into the water, and it was unknown where he had drifted to; they didn’t know how to start searching. Moreover, as the wind on the river grew stronger, 001 bobbed up and down like a leaf, which was also very dangerous; they needed to hurry into port to shelter from the wind.
Just as Han Yu finished reporting the situation to the Port Supervision Bureau Traffic Control Center, he was about to ask his senior sister to notify the officials and the public fighting the flood on the downstream riverbanks to keep an eye out, when his senior sister suddenly relayed another command.
"The Binjiang Defense Command says the tide is too high, the riverbank on Jiangxin Island cannot be held, and 396 officials and public on the island must be evacuated imdiately. Due to the high winds on the river, they have no boats available for transfer, asking if you can help move the people."
"396 lives, no matter how strong the wind, I must go, but 001 is too small, how many people can it transfer at a ti?"
"What should we do, Secretary Lu is currently at the City Flood Control Command, this is an order from Secretary Lu!"
"Ask the City Flood Control Command if they can deploy a ferry."
"There’s no ferry port on Jiangxin Island, the ferry can’t dock!"
"The ferry doesn’t need to dock; I can transfer people onto the ferry."
"With such strong wind, can the ferry even set sail?"
"If 001 can withstand it, the ferry should be fine, besides, life-saving is the most critical, there’s no ti to consider much now."
"I’ll ask the Defense Command first."
"Okay, I’m changing course imdiately, heading to Jiangxin Island."
Many inhabited sandbars in the Binjiang waters don’t pose a problem when there’s no flood, but once flooding occurs, the public on the sandbars are at risk of being swept away by the floodwaters.
Han Yu didn’t dare delay for a mont, instructed the helmsman Ma Jintao via walkie-talkie to change course, and then opened the high-frequency radio to call the Water Police Station.
"Salted Fish, everyone is fighting the flood by the river, only I am on duty in the office."
"Political Commissioner, evacuating the people from Jiangxin Island is more urgent than carrying sandbags. Please notify the comrades who have undergone assault boat rescue training to imdiately take the assault boats and stand by at the Port Supervision Bureau pier."
"The wind outside is so strong and the river’s waves are so rough, can the assault boats be deployed?"
"We train troops for a thousand days to use them in one mont; nearly four hundred people on Jiangxin Island are now relying solely on us."
Han Yu pushed open the cabin door, braved the storm to look back at the dark behind him, and said with heavy heart, "Just five minutes ago, I had to give up the search and rescue of a crew mber who had fallen overboard, his chances of survival are slim, and that’s a human life! I’ve already given up on one, I can’t give up on over three hundred more."
Until now, Political Commissioner Ma only knew that the water police were working hard; he hadn’t realized they had to make such brutal decisions about who to save and who not to save during major disasters. He quickly responded, "Alright, I will notify them right now, but you all must be careful."
"The typhoon is still over Zhehai, and it is estimated to reach us around midnight. As long as the wind doesn’t change dramatically, we should be able to evacuate over three hundred people ashore before the typhoon hits."
"Okay, you’re the expert on river matters; I entrust the comrades to you, you must ensure their safety."
"I can only do my best, I can’t guarantee."
"..."
Now, with typhoon and flood control taking precedence over everything, superiors are constantly issuing notices requiring "all possible asures" to ensure the safety of people and their property.
We train troops for a thousand days to use them just this once; the boat and bridge troops of the Provincial Military District and various units stationed in Binjiang have been mobilized.
Director Wang just called to say that at this very mont, along the banks of the Yangtze River’s Jiangnan section, there are three generals commanding their troops in flood and typhoon defense, one of them right here in Binjiang!
Even the Liberation Army is out here for typhoon and flood defense, so the local police should certainly go all out to defend our ho.
Salted Fish must be bracing himself against fate, otherwise he would not have said he can only try his best without guarantee, Political Commissioner Ma took a few deep breaths, tearing up, and raised his walkie-talkie to call the police who were reinforcing the river embanknts in the district.
At 8:26 PM, vessel 001 moored at the Port Supervision Bureau’s berth.
The waves were too great, and Captain Fan personally steered, trying his best to control the posture of 001.
Zhao Hongxing had been waiting for a long ti and imdiately led six officers trained in anti-nausea techniques to carry the assault boats aboard.
"Director Zhao, comrades, Political Commissioner Ma asked
an hour and a half ago to ensure everyone’s safety. But with such strong winds and poor visibility at night, it’s easy for the boat to capsize and people to die—I really don’t know if I can make it back alive, so I can’t guarantee everyone’s safety!"
"Director Yu, if we were afraid of death, we wouldn’t have co!"
"Good, then we’ll live and die together!"
Han Yu took a deep breath, then changed his tone, "Although I can’t guarantee everyone’s safety, I want to ask everyone to ensure the safety of the people! Our mission is to evacuate three hundred and ninety-six people from Jiangxin Island. Considering the strong waves, one assault boat can only transfer six people at a ti to the ferry heading to Jiangxin Island.
We have three assault boats, plus 001, which ans we can transfer thirty people at a ti—we need thirteen trips. During transfer, I will ask Captain Fan to steer as much as possible upstream to try to block so of the wind and waves.
In short, the ti has co to test our courage and our driving skills. Whether we can safely transfer over three hundred people to the ferry, it’s up to us now."
Zhao Hongxing also steeled himself, looked at his watch, wiped the rain off his face, and added, "The anti-flood command has notified us that the typhoon will reach Binjiang around half past twelve, and it takes about half an hour to navigate to Jiangxin Island, which ans we only have two hours to evacuate the people!"
"Two hours, Director Zhao, did you miscalculate?" Zhang Bigong couldn’t help but ask,
Han Yu looked up and said, "Director Zhao is not wrong, we need to leave an hour to evacuate to safe waters to shelter from the wind, and the anti-flood command’s notice is just a teorological departnt forecast, no one knows if the typhoon will speed up or arrive earlier in Binjiang."
...
While Han Yu and Zhao Hongxing led the Binjiang Water Police to rush to Jiangxin Island to evacuate the people, Mrs. Han and Master’s wife, worried about their hos, braved the torrential rain with flashlights and returned to the family area at the passenger terminal.
The second line of defense constructed by the leaders and villagers of Four Factory Town proved effective; the tidal level in the river was high, but it never breached.
However, the rainwater within the sandbag-built second line of defense couldn’t be drained, and the dormitories were already flooded. The two continuously scooped water with various tools, but the water kept surging in.
The chicken coop was subrged, several egg-laying hens fluttered up onto the roof, while the young chicks that were caught earlier had already disappeared without a trace.
As for the duck shed built below the river embanknt, even the roof was no longer visible.
On the outside of the river embanknt was the murky river water, rising higher and higher.
On the inside of the river embanknt was a vast expanse of water, the lower-lying farmland all flooded; this type of internal flooding is what the Linghai people fear and feel most helpless about.
The chicks were gone, and the old hens were on the roof without ans to climb up and catch them.
The ducks were missing, and even the rapeseed and beans previously planted were subrged; it’s truly a case of misfortune upon misfortune when sothing as simple as drinking cold water chokes.
Mrs. Han’s heart ached, and tears stread down her face.
Sister Wei, understanding her feelings at the mont, took hold of her arm and advised, "Yanfeng, don’t cry, this is a natural disaster, there’s nothing we can do about it, let’s hurry back and pack up our things."
Their belongings were all in the dormitory; heaven knows how high the water would rise, heaven knows whether the old buildings at the passenger terminal would collapse due to the water.
If the sandbag-built second line of defense couldn’t hold back the river water or if the dormitory collapsed, never mind whether the whole family would have anything to eat in the future, they might even not have clothes to change into.
Mrs. Han couldn’t afford to be sad anymore, quickly wiped her tears, and choked out, "Okay, let’s go back and pack our things first."
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