June 15, 2019, Scorching, Guangzhou - Longnan of Jiangxi

In the several days before we departed for Jiangxi to conduct rapid needs assessment, Guangzhou has been hit by the "dragon boat rainwater" (rainstorms around the Dragon Boat Festival), and I've been worried about the difficulty of travel due to the heavy rain. Unexpectedly, what Jiangxi people need to face is more than the travel issue.

This day, I caught the 7 o'clock train and arrived in Ganzhou at noon. There was no trace of disaster in Ganzhou and everything was in order at the Ganzhou Railway Station. Also, it was a scorching day that day. Who could have thought that Gannan was struck by the rainstorms and floods several days ago?

The HEA team rented a car. The three of us crowded in the back seats of the narrow carriage and went straight to Civil Affairs Bureau of Longnan County. It was already 2:00 p.m. and this needs assessment achieved an efficient and compact start.

There was also no trace of flood in the county urban area of Longnan County. Staff of the Civil Affairs Bureau explained to us: Five days have passed since the disaster struck, and the county urban area was not seriously affected but just immersed, so it was cleaned up and restored to its original state soon.

Under the coordination of the local Civil Affairs Bureau, we were led by the town chief of Yangcun Town to go to the countryside for needs assessment. When we reached the villages, the destructive power of the flood showed itself before us. Village cadres constantly reminded us that this was the result achieved with concerted efforts after deploying all available forces and cleaning for five days.

After five days of cleaning, the roads are still covered with mud, making it difficult to walk, and the mud in the courtyard of the residents is still more than ten centimeters thick. The road along the river is still full of a faint smell of decay. The desks and chairs in the school are still being washed and left to dry. Electricity is still being repaired and the residents use candles for lighting. The old houses that collapsed into ruins have not been cleaned up yet.

The badly damaged bridges are like the paper toys unconcernedly broken and discarded at the roadside by a naughty child and remind us of the merciless flood. The house ruins are like the scene of a Hollywood disaster movie and remind us of the residents' narrow escape. The once exquisite architecture of the Ming dynasty seems to be cut by an invisible broadsword, which is really a pity. The once elegant 501 enclosed houses of Hakka culture all turned into miserable ruins. It tells us that time is not the cruelest, but disaster is.

The roads are still being cleaned and the infrastructure repaired. On the way back, I saw many residents carrying large boxes of drinking water and food on their shoulders and going home under the slowly darkening sky.

The flood cannot defeat us because we are all hopeful and helping each other to rebuild our lives. The darkness cannot devour us, because assistance from all sides can ignite the hope of the victims and help them move on.

(Written by Cassandra Li)