Flood victims forced to wait for help as homes and roads are washed awaypublished at 08:27 British Summer Time
08:27 BST
Image source, Getty Images
As news of the floods continues to come in, many are anxiously waiting for updates about their loved ones.
A young woman told the BBC that eight of her relatives – including three elderly people in their 70s and two young children – are currently trapped in their old family home in Liulimiao Town, in northeast Beijing’s Huairou District.
“They would rather stay in the old house than try to walk downstream,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “The road has been washed away. If they get stuck on a broken road, it could be even more dangerous.”
She explained that her relatives’ newer house, located closer to the river, had already collapsed as floodwaters surged through the area. The older home, while slightly safer, is at the foot of a hill and faces the risk of landslides.
She said her father, unprepared for the scale of the disaster, initially tried to save their car – but during the attempt, a telegraph pole fell and crushed it.
“He was so lucky,” she recalled. “There was a big tree nearby that he grabbed onto. If it wasn’t there, the flood would’ve swept him away too.”