Emergency rescue underway in flood-hit villages of Hunan Province

Efforts to deliver emergency rations and relocate residents are continuing at a brisk pace, as torrential downpours lash Zixing City in central China's Hunan Province have triggered floods and led to power and telecommunications outages in mountainous regions.

Zixing City has been experiencing a record rainfall since last Friday due to the impact of Typhoon Gaemi, with 14 roads interrupted.

The Department of Emergency Management of Hunan Province dispatched four helicopters to transport relief supplies and transfer trapped injured residents.

By Tuesday afternoon, more than 130 flights had been completed by four helicopters, with over 30 tons of emergency supplies, such as rice, flour, cooking oil and quilts, delivered to flood-isolated villages, which can enable the daily living needs of 15,000 people for two days.

In addition to transport supplies to 33 villages in four towns, helicopters are also used to transfer the injured, with medical workers, stretchers and ambulances standing by at the temporary distributing center of supplies.

At present, 47 injured residents have been transferred by air.

When flying to the flood-isolated areas, helicopters have also carried more than 100 personnel including rescuers, firefighters and medical staff in batches, as part of the efforts to resume the normal production and living order of affected residents in the flood-hit villages as soon as possible.

As of 17:00 on Saturday, the average precipitation of Bamianshan Town in Zixing City had reached 498 millimeters. And the rain stopped basically on Sunday.

Torrential rains have not only damaged roads and washed away bridges, but also caused power and internet outages in the township nestled deep within mountains. And multiple rescue units consist of firefighters, armed police and volunteers had to walk into the disaster-hit areas.

As of Tuesday morning, 15 rescue units, with about 10 members in each, hiked through flooded areas to enter the 15 flood-isolated villages in Bamianshan as roads leading to the villages were severely damaged.

Currently, more than 200 residents have been relocated, with all of them well supplied. So far, 17 injured people in urgent need of medical treatment have been transferred and sent to hospitals.

Emergency rescue underway in flood-hit villages of Hunan Province

Nauru remains steadfast in its adherence to the one-China principle, Lionel Aingimea, Nauruan Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade affirmed on Monday after the inauguration of the country's embassy in Beijing.

In an interview with China Media Group (CMG), Aingimea reaffirmed Nauru's recognition of China's sovereignty over all its territories, including Taiwan, and expressed hopes that other Pacific nations would embrace this principle.

"For us, the one-China principle is recognizing that the People's Republic of China is sovereign over all its territories, including Taiwan, the province of China. We believe that to be true. And I sincerely hope that our other Pacific brothers and sisters, who have not yet seen that that is the correct way to go, to recognize the one-China principle, and to realize that the sovereignty of the people to Republic of China over all its territories and its provinces is paramount, not just to recognizing that principle, but to their development also," said Aingimea.

Pragmatic cooperation has been one of the highlights of bilateral relations between China and Nauru over the past year, said Aingimea.

The two countries have conducted pragmatic and effective cooperation projects in the fields of education, culture, health and infrastructure, and the cooperation prospect for the two countries is bright, Aingimea said.

"To see you as a side-to-side brother, see you as a side-to-side friend, that you're walking together in the international arena, is very important. There are other countries that they see smaller countries, they look down on them. China does not. China treats me in the same way it treats every other single foreign minister. We also came from that, I suppose, the least developed, to now being an incredibly well-developed country. China has never forgotten that. That's how they see Nauru, and therefore when we go forward, we remember going forward with you, because we remember where we come from, we know where you are," said Aingimea.

Nauru resumed its diplomatic ties with China on the basis of the one-China principle on Jan 24, 2024, becoming the 183rd country having diplomatic relations with China.

Nauru reaffirms unwavering commitment to one-China principle