From July 17 to 22, torrential rain battered Xinxiang, Henan Province. The rainstorm had a maximum precipitation level of 907mm – the most extreme level of precipitation since the start of Xinxiang City’s meteorological records.
Brother L is a native of Xinxiang. When the flood struck he was in Sichuan, but his wife and children were all in Xinxiang. Recalling his emotions at that time, he said, “I was in a hurry to return to my hometown, but there was no way back. Apart from praying, no one could do anything.”
On the night of the 26th, Brother L returned to Xinxiang. It usually takes a few hours to drive, but because of the flood and rainstorm, he said that he drove for more than ten hours all the way. When he arrived, he found that only one highway exit was open. After getting off the highway, he drove along the residential roads. On the way, he could smell a rancid odour in the air and saw many dead animals floating in the floodwater.
L had a night’s rest at home. On the next day, he found that there was water in his basement. At noon, a Christian brother came to his home, telling him that the disaster situation was not looking very optimistic. Many Christians in the church were very enthusiastic, willing to help with disaster relief.
Less than half an hour after that the visitor left, L received a phone call from the brother asking him to help deliver some relief items to the subordinate Weihui and Huixian. He drove to the rescue mission with supplies in the afternoon. L said that he had been busy collecting and delivering relief materials throughout the course of those few days. He sent them to places that had suffered the most from the disaster, such as Xinxiang City, Weihui City, Huixian City, and Xunxian County, where he had been. This continued until August 2nd when it could no longer be done due to road traffic control, preventing them from providing any further aid.
He said that everyone was equally at risk in the face of a disaster regardless of their denomination. As long as it was a severely affected place, he could send relief supplies there.
Up to now, it has been nearly one month since the rainstorm and flood. However, the impact of the disaster is still apparent.
He said that these effects were far more serious than many people thought. Among his friends, there were photos of the scene in the disaster area, showing that there was still much rubbish beside the road before it could be cleaned up. Now the accumulated water on the road is basically gone, however, in many low-lying farmlands, the water has not completely receded. His home is relatively close to Weihe River, which has led to water seeping into the basement every day until now. At the beginning of the flood, only the property office in their community had a pump, which was always broken because it was used too often. L bought a new pump and pumped water out of the basement every day.
However, compared with post-disaster reconstruction and restoration of normal production and living order, in his view, people’s psychological problems after the disaster should be more of a priority.
He shared, “Xinxiang has not suffered such a huge disaster for many years. For most people, this disaster was something they had never experienced before. Because they had never experienced it, people didn’t know how to deal with it let alone how to face it in the future. The flood will subside slowly, but the psychological problems of many people caused by the flood are slowly increasing.”
After the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, he also returned to Sichuan, which is his ancestral home, to assist with disaster relief efforts. In addition to this, his faith gave him psychological support, so now when the disaster came, he would not panic. However, for many people who were hesitant because of their lack of experience in facing disasters, they were faced with the challenge of how to move on with their lives after the flooding receded.
He found that many believers in the church were very enthusiastic in the face of disasters. He also saw that many Christians in Shandong, Jiangsu, and even Beijing were very concerned about the flood disaster in Henan. Some people raised and donated disaster relief supplies, and some traveled long distances to reach the disaster area.
“Brothers and sisters are very caring, which is a very important aspect, but at the same time we must be careful and wise in our approach,” he added.
In the process of the relief, L saw that many people often did things in a rather inefficient way. For example, it took one or two days to verify a message in an emergency despite the disaster being so serious and the information processing was very unsmooth. Due to the lack of efficiency in communications, it took a long time to confirm which supplies were needed in each affected region. Because of this, it was possible that after a day or two the supplies that had been prepared and sent were no longer needed because the situation had changed significantly by then.
He hoped that believers would not just fight their own battles when participating in rescue but needed to become more efficient in information processing and circulation and work together as a whole team.
“We need to be able to send the supplies to the places where they are most needed in the shortest possible time so that we can play a good role to maximize the best use of the limited resources.” He stressed, “Accurate information and quick action are the true acts of love in this situation.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
7 月 17 日至 22 日，河南新乡出现特大暴雨，最大降水量达 907mm，这也是新乡市有气象记录以来的最强极端降水过程。
L 弟兄本身就是新乡人，发洪水的时候，他人在四川，可他的妻子孩子们却都在新乡。回忆起当时的心情，L 弟兄说：“我在外面心急如焚，但是没有办法，人不在，除了祷告什么都做不了。”
在 26 号晚上 L 弟兄回到了新乡的家中。平时驾车几个小时就能到达的路程，可是因为洪水和暴雨的影响，他说自己一路上开了十几个小时，到了新乡发现只有一个高速出口开放。下高速以后，他开车走在路上，闻到空气中充斥着很重的腐臭味道，看到不少动物尸体漂在水面上。
在家里休息了一个晚上，第二天 L 弟兄发现自己家的地下室也进水了。中午时候一名基督徒弟兄来到他家里，说，受灾的情况不容乐观，很多教会的基督徒很热心，很想参与到救灾中去。
后来这个弟兄走了之后不到半小时就电话联系 L ，请他帮助给卫辉和辉县那边送一些救灾物品。正好他有车，所以马不停蹄，下午就带着物资赶赴到救援一线了。L 介绍说，那些天他一直在忙着筹集救灾物资，然后送到周围受灾最严重的一些地方去，比如新乡市区、卫辉、辉县还有浚县，这些地方他都去过。就这样一直做到 8 月 2 号左右，因为道路交通管制的原因不能够再继续做了，这时候才停下来。
他说到，灾难面前，人人平等。不分对方是什么宗派，也不分对方是不是基督徒。只要是受灾严重的地方，那么他就要去送救灾物资。
截止到目前，距离暴雨和洪灾发生时已经将近一个月了。但是，洪水造成的影响一直到现在还在。
他说，这些影响远比很多人所想象的更加严重。他的朋友圈里面是一些灾区现场的照片，从中可以看到在道路旁边还有很多垃圾没来得及清理。现在道路上的积水基本上已经没有了，但是其实很多地势比较低洼的农田里面，水还没有完全退下去。他的家距离卫河比较近，导致地下室直到现在每天都会渗水，每天都要用水泵抽。洪水刚开始的时候他们小区只有物业有一台水泵，不够用不说还总是坏。L就买了一台新的水泵，每天都要给地下室抽水。
然而，比起灾后重建和恢复正常的生产生活秩序，在 他看来，更需要重视的经历灾难后的人们的心理问题。
他说：“对新乡来说，已经有很多年的时间没有遭遇过这么巨大的灾难了。对绝大多数人来说，这次的灾难是他们从来没有经历过的。因为从来未曾经历过，所以人们才不知道应当如何应对，更不知道往后的生活应当如何面对。洪水会慢慢褪去，可是洪水所导致的很多人的心理问题正在慢慢的凸显出来。”
L 回忆说，他的祖籍是四川，2008 年汶川地震后他也回到了四川参与救灾，加上信仰带给他的一个心理支持，所以现在当灾难来临时还不至于惊慌失措，但对很多内心彷徨又缺乏面对灾害的经验的人来说，洪水退去后，他们又该如何面对和选择以后的生活呢？
他发现在灾难面前，教会很多信徒们非常有热心，他也看到了山东，江苏甚至北京不少基督徒非常关心这次的河南洪灾，有人积极筹集、奉献救灾物资，也有人一路长途跋涉开车奔赴灾区
。“弟兄姊妹们都很有爱心， 这是很重要的一方面，可是同时也要讲究方法。”他直言不讳地说到。
L 弟兄在参与救灾的过程当中看到很多人很多时候做事情的效率是很低的，他举例说，在灾情那么严重的紧急关头，可是核实一条消息都需要一两天的时间，信息对接非常不畅通。比 如某个地方到底需要什么救灾物资，光是核实和确定这个都需要花很长时间。有可能一两天之后，物资筹集好了，但是情况有了很大的变化，已经不需要了。
他盼望着大家在参与救援时不要只是各自为战，需要在信息对接和流转方面变得更加有效率。
“能够在最短的时间内把物资送到最有需要的地方去，这样才能够很好地发挥功用，让有限的资源能够发挥出来最大的作用。”他强调说：“准确的信息加上迅速的行动，这才是真实的爱心。”
访谈|7.21 新乡暴雨后 一名青年基督徒弟兄参与的故乡救援之路
From July 17 to 22, torrential rain battered Xinxiang, Henan Province. The rainstorm had a maximum precipitation level of 907mm – the most extreme level of precipitation since the start of Xinxiang City’s meteorological records.
Brother L is a native of Xinxiang. When the flood struck he was in Sichuan, but his wife and children were all in Xinxiang. Recalling his emotions at that time, he said, “I was in a hurry to return to my hometown, but there was no way back. Apart from praying, no one could do anything.”
On the night of the 26th, Brother L returned to Xinxiang. It usually takes a few hours to drive, but because of the flood and rainstorm, he said that he drove for more than ten hours all the way. When he arrived, he found that only one highway exit was open. After getting off the highway, he drove along the residential roads. On the way, he could smell a rancid odour in the air and saw many dead animals floating in the floodwater.
L had a night’s rest at home. On the next day, he found that there was water in his basement. At noon, a Christian brother came to his home, telling him that the disaster situation was not looking very optimistic. Many Christians in the church were very enthusiastic, willing to help with disaster relief.
Less than half an hour after that the visitor left, L received a phone call from the brother asking him to help deliver some relief items to the subordinate Weihui and Huixian. He drove to the rescue mission with supplies in the afternoon. L said that he had been busy collecting and delivering relief materials throughout the course of those few days. He sent them to places that had suffered the most from the disaster, such as Xinxiang City, Weihui City, Huixian City, and Xunxian County, where he had been. This continued until August 2nd when it could no longer be done due to road traffic control, preventing them from providing any further aid.
He said that everyone was equally at risk in the face of a disaster regardless of their denomination. As long as it was a severely affected place, he could send relief supplies there.
Up to now, it has been nearly one month since the rainstorm and flood. However, the impact of the disaster is still apparent.
He said that these effects were far more serious than many people thought. Among his friends, there were photos of the scene in the disaster area, showing that there was still much rubbish beside the road before it could be cleaned up. Now the accumulated water on the road is basically gone, however, in many low-lying farmlands, the water has not completely receded. His home is relatively close to Weihe River, which has led to water seeping into the basement every day until now. At the beginning of the flood, only the property office in their community had a pump, which was always broken because it was used too often. L bought a new pump and pumped water out of the basement every day.
However, compared with post-disaster reconstruction and restoration of normal production and living order, in his view, people’s psychological problems after the disaster should be more of a priority.
He shared, “Xinxiang has not suffered such a huge disaster for many years. For most people, this disaster was something they had never experienced before. Because they had never experienced it, people didn’t know how to deal with it let alone how to face it in the future. The flood will subside slowly, but the psychological problems of many people caused by the flood are slowly increasing.”
After the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, he also returned to Sichuan, which is his ancestral home, to assist with disaster relief efforts. In addition to this, his faith gave him psychological support, so now when the disaster came, he would not panic. However, for many people who were hesitant because of their lack of experience in facing disasters, they were faced with the challenge of how to move on with their lives after the flooding receded.
He found that many believers in the church were very enthusiastic in the face of disasters. He also saw that many Christians in Shandong, Jiangsu, and even Beijing were very concerned about the flood disaster in Henan. Some people raised and donated disaster relief supplies, and some traveled long distances to reach the disaster area.
“Brothers and sisters are very caring, which is a very important aspect, but at the same time we must be careful and wise in our approach,” he added.
In the process of the relief, L saw that many people often did things in a rather inefficient way. For example, it took one or two days to verify a message in an emergency despite the disaster being so serious and the information processing was very unsmooth. Due to the lack of efficiency in communications, it took a long time to confirm which supplies were needed in each affected region. Because of this, it was possible that after a day or two the supplies that had been prepared and sent were no longer needed because the situation had changed significantly by then.
He hoped that believers would not just fight their own battles when participating in rescue but needed to become more efficient in information processing and circulation and work together as a whole team.
“We need to be able to send the supplies to the places where they are most needed in the shortest possible time so that we can play a good role to maximize the best use of the limited resources.” He stressed, “Accurate information and quick action are the true acts of love in this situation.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
Interview: A Christian’s Rescue Story in China's Flood-Ravaged Henan Province
