Liulin Town in Sui County, Suizhou City, Hubei Province, was hit by extremely heavy rainfall which triggered floods from August 11 to 12. Gospel Times interviewed Rev. Liao Haomin, chairman and president of Suizhou CC&TSPM, to learn about the situation of local churches and believers.
Pastor Liao introduced that the main areas battered by the torrential rainstorms were Liulin and Changgang Town in the southern area of Suizhou. Some Christians in Liulin Town and Jinchuan County were affected, including an old missing believer who is still being looked for.
The church where Liao served in Zengdu District would pay a visit to Hedian Town and prepare some materials to be delivered to the disaster area, the pastor added. The church is also in contact with other meeting points in Liulin Town, waiting to provide help according to new information.
According to Sui County Government on August 13, from 21:00 on August 11 to 9:00 on the 12th, Liulin Township had accumulated rainfall of 503 mm, its most extreme value since the onset of meteorological records. The average depth of water in the town was 3.5 meters and the deepest point was five meters, as the town is low-lying, surrounded by mountains on three sides.
China's state TV broadcaster CCTV reported on Friday that based on preliminary investigations, the record-breaking rainstorm had affected more than 8,000 people in the town, leaving 21 dead and 4 missing. More than 2,700 houses and shops were flooded and damaged, of which 221 collapsed. The township's electricity and communications were cut off.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
