A pastor said that local Christians suffered no property loss in a historical flood in China's northern Shaanxi.
From August 21 to 22, most areas of Mian County in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, were battered by extreme rainstorms with a maximum precipitation level of 237.7 mm and maximum hourly rainfall of 72.5 mm, its most extreme value since the onset of meteorological records, according to the provincial weather bureau.
Based on preliminary statistics, the record-breaking storms affected 11,639 people and 1,146 hectares of farmland, causing a total direct economic loss of about 450 million yuan as of 4 pm on Aug 22. During the flood, 1,393 households with 4,070 people were relocated from rural areas to a safer place and 415 rooms were damaged, of which 3 were wrecked. Some roads were interrupted, and traffic was blocked in many places. At 10 pm last Saturday, the county flood control headquarters initiated the level-II flood prevention emergency response, while the whole county entered a state of emergency disaster prevention.
On the afternoon of August 23, Pastor Zhu Lin from Mian County Church received a phone interview with Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, sharing the situation of flood-fighting and disaster relief conducted by local churches.
When the rainstorm came, the pastoral staff of the church immediately discussed countermeasures by phone, as in-person services were suspended due to COVID-19.
In addition to launching prayer for the disaster on August 21, the staff urged church members to protect themselves and to contact the church if their houses were flooded. Church watchmen were told to be on alert and keep an eye on the calamity.
Pastor Zhu said that the whole church and believers passed through the torrential rainstorms safely without any property loss. Next, they would actively participate in post-disaster reconstruction and restoration of normal life.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
据公众号“勉县发布”8月22日消息：8月21日至22日，陕西汉中勉县大部分地区遭受特大暴雨袭击，最大降雨量237.7毫米，最大小时雨量72.5毫米，为勉县有气象监测数据以来极值。
据初步统计，截至22日16时，全县11639人受灾，直接经济损失合计约4.5亿元，勉县农村撤离群众1393户4070人，农作物受灾面积1146.04公顷；严重损坏房屋3间，一般损坏房屋415间；345国道茶店段、勉长路等道路中断，多处交通受阻；21日22时，勉县防指启动勉县II级防汛应急响应，全县进入紧急防灾状态，
8月23日下午，笔者通过电话联系到勉县基督教堂朱林教师，了解到了暴雨袭击期间该教会的抗洪救灾情况。
暴雨来临时，该堂教牧同工们第一时间互通电话了解情况，并紧急商议了应对措施。
由于疫情原因，当地教会尚未恢复实地聚会。因此该堂教牧同工一方面叮嘱教堂值班人员提高警惕，随时留意灾情进展；另一方面嘱咐教会牧者、骨干分头通知本堂弟兄姊妹在家做好自我保护工作，如有灾情发生，及时与教会取得联系；第三则是号召教会弟兄姊妹从8月21日起，在家为全县汛情开展守望祷告。
朱教师说，勉县基督教堂以及全教会的姊妹弟兄在此次降雨中平安度过，几乎没有财产损失。教会接下来将和全县人民团结在一起，积极投入到灾后重建中去，尽快恢复正常生活秩序！让我们为他们献上迫切的祈祷，求主止息灾难，平息洪水，让受灾的群众得以救助！
（本文作者为福音时报西北地区特约撰稿人。）
http://www.gospeltimes.cn/article/index/id/57560
关注陕西汉中勉县汛情，为灾区代祷！
A pastor said that local Christians suffered no property loss in a historical flood in China's northern Shaanxi.
From August 21 to 22, most areas of Mian County in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, were battered by extreme rainstorms with a maximum precipitation level of 237.7 mm and maximum hourly rainfall of 72.5 mm, its most extreme value since the onset of meteorological records, according to the provincial weather bureau.
Based on preliminary statistics, the record-breaking storms affected 11,639 people and 1,146 hectares of farmland, causing a total direct economic loss of about 450 million yuan as of 4 pm on Aug 22. During the flood, 1,393 households with 4,070 people were relocated from rural areas to a safer place and 415 rooms were damaged, of which 3 were wrecked. Some roads were interrupted, and traffic was blocked in many places. At 10 pm last Saturday, the county flood control headquarters initiated the level-II flood prevention emergency response, while the whole county entered a state of emergency disaster prevention.
On the afternoon of August 23, Pastor Zhu Lin from Mian County Church received a phone interview with Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, sharing the situation of flood-fighting and disaster relief conducted by local churches.
When the rainstorm came, the pastoral staff of the church immediately discussed countermeasures by phone, as in-person services were suspended due to COVID-19.
In addition to launching prayer for the disaster on August 21, the staff urged church members to protect themselves and to contact the church if their houses were flooded. Church watchmen were told to be on alert and keep an eye on the calamity.
Pastor Zhu said that the whole church and believers passed through the torrential rainstorms safely without any property loss. Next, they would actively participate in post-disaster reconstruction and restoration of normal life.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Christians Suffer no Property Loss in Shaanxi Flooding
