△Aerial view of the flood disaster area in Shexian, Anhui. On July 7, 2020, Shexian County in Anhui Province was hit by a once-in-50-years torrential rain. Due to continuous heavy rain and upstream flood peaks, water levels in multiple rivers rose, causing river water to backflow into the urban area, leading to severe flooding in many places. The flood caused by this heavy rainfall submerged the warehouses of 190 enterprises and over 100 individual businesses in the Shexian Economic Development Zone. Official statistics put direct economic losses at over 3.5 billion yuan. At the Shexian farmers' market, we visited 10 merchants whose shops were flooded and warehouses waterlogged, with losses ranging from hundreds of thousands to 20 million yuan. Click to watch the video: What did Jiang Minfang, who lost 20 million yuan, say after the disaster? -01- "My wife saw the flooded shop and had a stroke relapse, and was hospitalized" Merchant: Wu Yongqiang Shop: Huijia Tea Shop Estimated loss: Over 300,000 yuan Wu Yongqiang, owner of Huijia Tea Shop Wu Yongqiang, who has run a tea shop for 20 years, never imagined his shop would be flooded. He said the water rose so suddenly that by the time he arrived, the shop was in a mess, with tea leaves, packaging boxes, and local specialties everywhere. Ninety percent of the goods were soaked in water and turned into garbage. Including the shop's inventory and two flooded warehouses, Wu Yongqiang suffered direct losses of over 300,000 yuan. The flooded Shexian market. After seeing the devastated shop, his wife had a stroke relapse and was hospitalized. These days, Wu Yongqiang is in a state of disarray, having to clean up the shop while also taking care of his wife. He admitted the pressure is heavy, "but fortunately my daughter is sensible and can help share some of the burden." Wu Yongqiang's elderly mother, feeling for her son's difficulties, often comes to the shop to help clean up the mud and sort damaged goods. She believes her son can overcome this difficulty and start over. -02- "A heavy rain brought me back to square one overnight" Merchant: Jiang Minfang Shop: Baozhen Famous Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Tea Estimated loss: 20 million yuan Jiang Minfang tearfully recounts her experience. Jiang Minfang, 52, has been in the home textiles, bedding, wedding candy trade, and tea business for over 20 years. Affected by the pandemic, business has not been good this year. Due to parking difficulties at the Shexian farmers' market, she had just taken a 20 million yuan bank loan to buy a storefront of over 1,000 square meters in the north of the city, planning to gradually move her business there. On the night of July 6, the flood submerged Jiang Minfang's over 2,000-square-meter storefront and all 30 warehouses. The next morning, when she and her husband Sun Xiaolai arrived, the entire farmers' market was already underwater. The rain continued unabated, and the floodwater rose to over one meter in less than ten minutes, reaching a maximum of two meters, making it impossible to enter the shop. Jiang Minfang's husband wading through the water. Photo provided by interviewee. The couple's several attempts were in vain. Not only were the shops flooded, but several cars parked at the entrance were also ruined. "The four shops have lost nearly 20 million yuan. How can I explain this to my customers?" Jiang Minfang wept bitterly, while her husband kept sighing. When we met again on July 9, Jiang Minfang, who was cleaning up goods among the ruins, had calmed down somewhat. She said she had originally planned to retire in two years, "but the heavy rain brought me back to square one overnight." -03- "After more than ten years in business, this is the first time I've encountered this" Merchant: Shen Liuqing Shop: Liuqing Stationery Estimated loss: 2 million yuan Shen Liuqing, owner of the stationery store Shen Liuqing has been in the stationery wholesale business for over ten years. The shop was doing well, and she had recently taken out a mortgage on an apartment and a Mercedes-Benz. "If things go smoothly, I could pay off the loans in a few years." But plans couldn't keep up with changes. One night of heavy rain turned her life upside down. The shop was flooded, and the Mercedes-Benz, parked nearby with only a few thousand kilometers on it, was submerged up to the roof. Flooded vehicles. "The shop was filled with floating stationery, backpacks, umbrellas, and other items." After more than ten years in business, this was the first time she had encountered such a situation. After the water receded at noon, the shop was covered in over ten centimeters of mud. It was then that she realized the new goods stored in her five warehouses were also completely flooded. Shen Liuqing said that not long ago, her 70-year-old mother was diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer. After her careful care, the condition had recently been brought under control. Now, "everything has been disrupted again." -04- "All my savings were bet on this batch of goods" Merchant: Lin Guolan Shop: Jiwen Bicycle Shop Estimated loss: 600,000 yuan Shop owner Lin Guolan Lin Guolan runs a bicycle business at the Shexian farmers' market. The summer vacation after the college entrance exam is the peak season for bicycle sales. Before the primary and secondary schools closed for vacation, Lin Guolan spent all his savings to stock up on goods. But the heavy rain came before the peak season, flooding both his shop and warehouse. The bicycle shop after the flood receded. "When my husband and I arrived at the shop, we were stunned. The bicycles, still unsealed, were completely soaked. The number of parts and small packages washed away was incalculable," Lin Guolan said while cleaning the flooded bicycles, recalling the scene at the time. After the flood receded, how to deal with the hundreds of flooded bicycles became a major problem for Lin Guolan. "The rims are stainless steel, but other parts are not. They will rust over time," Lin Guolan said. Even if he sold them at 30% of the purchase price, he might not be able to sell them. -05- "In just over ten minutes, all the dairy products in the shop were submerged" Merchant: Ling Zhiming Shop: Dairy Specialty Store Estimated loss: 180,000 yuan Ling Zhiming, owner of the dairy specialty store Ling Zhiming's dairy specialty store has been open for 17 years. After his son got married, he and his wife ran the shop while taking care of their granddaughter, living a plain but happy life. On the early morning of July 7, Ling Zhiming received a phone call notifying him that the river was rising. He put down the phone and ran to the shop without even grabbing an umbrella. "At that time, the water was just seeping into the shop. I immediately started moving goods to the second floor, going back and forth more than ten times, but I couldn't keep up with the flood's momentum." More than ten minutes later, the murky river water rose above the boxes of milk and reached Ling Zhiming's chest. He had no choice but to give up. Goods piled up at the neighboring store. "I lost about 180,000 yuan," Ling Zhiming said, opening a bottle of medicine and pouring a few pills into his mouth. Ling Zhiming has been in poor health recently, with a persistent sore throat that hasn't improved after two months of medication. After this flood, he feels his condition has worsened. -06- "The restaurant that had only been open for just over 2 months was flooded" Merchant: Yang Rongxin Shop: Liangliang Restaurant Estimated loss: 150,000 yuan Yang Rongxin, owner of Liangliang Restaurant. Yang Rongxin has had a rough few years. After going through a divorce, his father was diagnosed with cancer. They spent over 400,000 yuan on treatment, but it couldn't save his father's life. Yang Rongxin, impoverished by illness, became a hardship household in the village. A few years ago, Yang Rongxin opened a restaurant in the county town. After selling the first one, he spent 150,000 yuan at the end of March this year to take over this restaurant in the farmers' market. The restaurant was destroyed. Seeing the restaurant that had only been open for a few months flooded, Yang Rongxin was very sad. "When I opened the restaurant door, tables and chairs were toppled, pots and pans were scattered everywhere, the ingredients in the freezer were all soaked, and the floor was covered in mud..." "Business was tough during the pandemic, and it had just started to improve when the flood hit," Yang Rongxin lamented, looking at the two-meter-high watermark on the restaurant wall, "Life is unpredictable!" -07- "This flood has dealt me a heavy blow" Merchant: Shen Zhengyuan Shop: Zhengyuan Children's Toys and Bicycles Estimated loss: 800,000 yuan Shop owner Shen Zhengyuan. After getting married in 2015, Shen Zhengyuan opened a store selling children's toys and bicycles. Shen Zhengyuan had worried that the ever-growing e-commerce platforms would deal a blow to his business. But he didn't expect the blow to come not from the internet, but from the sudden heavy rain. Damage situation. Toys and bicycles were piled up in four warehouses. After being soaked, normal sale was impossible. Shen Zhengyuan is currently discussing with manufacturers whether they can provide some support to reduce his losses. "After all, I put all my savings into opening this store." -08- "Sell a few for whatever they fetch, better than throwing them out as garbage" Merchant: Yu Xianling Shop: Qiaoxin Business Department Estimated loss: 700,000 yuan Yu Xianling, owner of Qiaoxin Business Department. Starting from a stall selling eggs, she now has a storefront and warehouse. After the flood, Yu Xianling's business has been "reset to zero." Yu Xianling said the storefront is only for display, so the loss there is not the main issue; the warehouse is the hardest hit. "The goods in the warehouse that were flooded are conservatively estimated at 700,000 yuan," Yu Xianling said. Water-damaged goods are being sold at the entrance. Although all her business has "gone down the drain," Yu Xianling, being naturally cheerful, shows no sign of worry on her face. She smiled as she introduced the losses to us, while sorting through the water-damaged goods and putting them on discount sale on the spot. "Sell a few for whatever they fetch, better than throwing them out as garbage!" she said. -09- "Some people grabbed the soaked paper products, and even my attempts to stop them were useless" Merchant: Wang Chunyan Shop: Shiming Paper Estimated loss: Over 300,000 yuan Unlike other shop owners, Wang Chunyan mainly deals in paper products, sanitary napkins, and towels. Her goods were almost impossible to salvage; once soaked, they all became waste. At the entrance of Wang Chunyan's shop, piles of cleared-out goods were stacked, not yet removed by sanitation workers. Many passersby were picking through them and taking some away. She warned passersby that these items were no longer usable and unhygienic, and shouldn't be picked up. "But many people wouldn't listen, as if they had found treasure," Wang Chunyan shook her head. Passersby picking up discarded items at the entrance. Speaking of this loss, Wang Chunyan was also helpless. She said she had been in business for over ten years and had never encountered such a disaster. She had experienced the great flood of 1998, but 22 years ago, this area had not yet been developed. -10- "After checking the warehouse, the two of them hugged and wept" Merchant: Zhang Lingyun Shop: Lirong General Store Estimated loss: 1 million yuan Owner Zhang Lingyun Zhang Lingyun and her husband took more than 20 years to build the store to its current scale. "Now my daughter is in college and my son is in middle school, both times when money is needed, but our source of income has been cut off." On the morning of July 7, when Zhang Lingyun and her husband arrived at the store and saw the devastation, they managed to control their emotions. But when they went to the warehouse and found it also flooded, they finally broke down and hugged each other, weeping. The farmers' market after the flood receded. This flood caused Zhang Lingyun direct losses of 1 million yuan. Zhang Lingyun said the continuous rain had made her uneasy, so she parked her truck on higher ground, saving the vehicle. The flood has receded, and Zhang Lingyun and other owners are carrying out self-rescue efforts. Local authorities have also mobilized volunteers to help enterprises clean up factory areas and spray disinfectant, striving to resume production as soon as possible. Zhang Lingyun said that although the economic losses are severe, fortunately no one was hurt. "As long as people are alive, we can start over." Source: Chinese People's Daily (ID: chinaoneday)