Foping County, Shaanxi Province - On 9 June, 2002, Foping County of Shaanxi Province – home to the Foping Nature Reserve which contains one of the densest panda populations in the world - experienced its most serious flood in history.

In June, about 1.4 million people were forced from their homes in western and central China, said Wang Junyao, vice director general of the Civil Affairs Ministry. The hardest-hit area was the county of Foping in Shaanxi province in the west, which suffered 151 deaths between June 7 and 11. On June 8 alone, the county recorded 489 millimeters (19 1/4 inches) of rainfall, said Deng Jian, vice director general of the National Office of Flood Relief and Drought Control.

The current flux of the Jiaoxihe River, which runs through the county town, reached 1900 m3/second, which is 2.46 times more than the highest record in 1980. Power and water supply as well as transportation facilities were completely destroyed and the roadbed of National Road 108 and the riverbank of the county were washed away. Most of the buildings along the riverbank collapsed.

The Foping Nature Reserve management bureau is located 1km south of the county town. Due to early notice and a quick reaction, the reserve bureau and field stations experienced no casualties but incurred huge losses in terms of infrastructures and equipment, as well as individual property loss. A reserve resident’s building located close to the road was destroyed in the flood. Roads, bridges, tunnels and some of the buildings in the six field stations all were severely damaged. Transportation, communications and water and electricity supply was suspended, which resulted in the halt of reserve work. Direct economic loss reached 14.76 million yuan (approximately USD1.8 million). The reserve is facing extreme difficulties as a result of the flood and needs support from various sources.

The rain began about 8pm on June 8, and by 11pm it turned into a storm. At 1:50am on June 9, Yong Yange, the Dean of the Research Office of Foping Reserve called the Deputy Director of the Reserve, Zhao Naxun, and informed him that the river had suddenly risen and that rescue measures had been taken at the County town. He suggested that immediate measures in the Reserve be taken just in case. Deputy Director Zhao immediately reported to Reserve Director Zhao Dehuai. The four managing officials went door to door of reserve staff and their families, asking people to move to higher ground in front of the office building.

At 3:10 am, 81 people including 32 construction workers for the reserve’s education center and 49 reserve staff and their families retreated safely from the building. Director Zhao Dehuai who announced that Foping Reserve was in a state of emergency organized an emergency meeting. Roles and responsibilities were assigned to staff. When people evacuated the building, most didn’t have time to change out of their sleepwear. In order to prevent unexpected accidents, Director Zhao ordered people not to go to the dangerous area and sent people to watch for water levels and other signs of emergency. At 4:10, the riverbank under the reserve management bureau broke and the fencing wall collapsed. At the same time, the thunderstorm became worse and the situation increasingly dangerous. At 4:15am, a three story resident building (2400 sq. meters) of the reserve built in 1990 started to collapse and disappeared with the flood in five minutes. Following it, the storage house and the reserve restaurant washed away, as well as construction material for an education center valued at 400,000 yuan.

At 5:20am, Director Zhao organized the homeless reserve staff, their families and construction workers to rest at the reserve conference rooms, offices and other staff homes. At 8am, Director Zhao and the Deputy Party Secretary Chen Qijin risked their lives by walking over the unstable Jiaoxihe River Bridge to report the disaster to the Shaanxi Forestry Department and the State Forestry Administration by using the single satellite phone available in the electricity and post bureau of Foping County.

The disaster of Foping Reserve attracted immediate attention from higher levels. The day the disaster occurred, the Director of the Shaanxi Forestry Department and the Directors of the Conservation Division of SFA immediately responded and requested the Changqing Reserve to send 40,000 yuan of emergency funds and other materials to Foping on their behalf. On June 10, The Governor of Shaanxi Province and other provincial and municipal officials came to Foping by helicopter to visit the flooded area and acknowledged the effective measures taken by the nature reserve. On June 11, Foping Reserve Bureau organized a meeting and sent two investigation teams to check the situation at field stations as well as the impact of flooding on the giant panda population. On June 13, the Chief engineer from the Conservation Division of Shaanxi Forestry Department brought some material and expressed sympathy from higher officials. Although conditions in terms of food, resident facilities and transportation are still difficult at Foping, the reserve staff and their families remained comparatively calm and stable. Staff is now working on the restoration of their home.

by Yong Yange, Foping Nature Reserve

For further information:

Ms. Li Ning, Communications Coordinator, Species Program, WWF China Programme. Tel: 86-10-6595 9891 ext. 223. Fax: 86-10-6591 5731. Email: lining@mailhost.cinet.com.cn


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