Chapter 176 A once-in-a-hundred-year catastrophic flood

Before coming to Calcutta, Gu Ji had already explained the seriousness of the disaster to Ranaut, and the latter also had a phone call with the chief minister of West Bengal. Because the transportation in Calcutta city itself was poor, coupled with the heavy rain, it was even more difficult.

It's congestion, not stagnation.

Therefore, in order to save travel time, the chief minister summoned all senior officials of the state government to wait at Bose International Airport.

Be prepared to hold emergency response meetings directly on the runway.

"News came from Vidi and Faraka Dam that the villagers gathered near the scene have been successfully evacuated by the anti-explosive force. They are currently checking whether there are any missing people along the river basin."

"Okay, let them speed up the inspection progress and leave near the bank of the Hooghly River as soon as possible."

"Mr. Vidhi, these are all the current senior leaders of the West Bengal government. Chief Minister Neha. Chief, this is the disaster relief specialist from the central cabinet government who I mentioned to you on the phone: Vidhi Da

profit."

As soon as Gu Ji walked out of the cabin, Fatima and Ranat spoke one after another.

The latter led him to the group of government officials and pointed to the leading woman and introduced him.

This is also the first time that Gu Ji has seen a female high-ranking official. Due to race, religious customs, etc., it is very rare for a woman to serve as the head of a state in India.

Moreover, her skin is dark and she does not come from a high caste.

Unexpectedly, at this time, a middle-aged and stout Indian senior police officer wearing a yellow police uniform raised his hand.

The same is true in Assam, the same is true in Midnapur district, and the same is true in Kolkata.

Gu Jigang had just finished speaking, and when he was about to reach the riverside, the car suddenly stopped.

"Hello Chief Minister, the matter is urgent. The Farakka Dam may break at any time, so we don't have much time. Has the state government taken any action yet?"

Unfortunately, the environmental conditions of the two are completely different.

Gu Ji took out his mobile phone and placed the satellite map in front of everyone. He marked red positions one after another on it. They were the buildings he had observed when he flew over in a helicopter. "I did some research when I came here. Calcutta

The metropolitan area covers an area of ​​1,750 square kilometers, of which the main urban area stretches along the banks of the Hooghly River in a north-south direction, with an altitude ranging from 1.5 to 9 meters, with the west being higher and the east being lower."

Perhaps it was the phrase "protecting the safety of important targets" in his words that attracted the attention of the congressmen. After all, whose family did not have children, relatives and friends, they finally reluctantly agreed to the proposal to consider applying for military entry.

The municipal and county magistrate mentioned that those people who cannot be absorbed by the central and southern districts of the town can use the port authority to mobilize port ships for temporary accommodation and disaster relief.

Gu Ji put his hands together and made a simple gesture of courtesy.

Several congressmen in suits and ties discussed in a low voice.

"We have deployed firefighters intensively, and the city engineering team has a total of 907 people. They are currently building a temporary flood control embankment 90 cm wide and 3 meters high with 30*70 cm fire-fighting sandbags on the shore, and are reinforcing it with flood control nets. But now it is

When people were bathing and praying on the banks of the Hooghly River, the implementation was a bit slow. We have only laid over 130 meters for the time being..."

"What happened? Why don't you leave?"

With an order, all the officials returned to their cars.

"Vidi, I have reported everything you told me to the minister, and the Cabinet Secretariat has also learned about it. The Prime Minister attaches great importance to this matter and has just ordered that additional boat troops and disaster emergency response troops be dispatched to provide support."

Gu Ji originally suggested that the Guwahati County Magistrate build sandbag embankments just to prevent the heavy rainfall caused by the tropical low pressure and to prevent the rivers from flowing back. "Fire Chief, with all due respect, it is useless to build flood control embankments at this time. We are going to

What we are facing may be a catastrophic flood that is rare in fifty years or even a century. Many places in Kolkata were originally large wetlands with low terrain and rich groundwater. Once a flood occurs, the consequences are unpredictable and must be started immediately.

Ⅰ Emergency response plan, establish an emergency command center, unified command, and unified dispatch of the entire city's people to evacuate."

"I support Commissioner Vidhi's proposal. My staff have told me before that his command ability at Farakka Dam is very good. If it weren't for him, the anti-explosive force would not have been able to settle East Midnapore in such a short period of time.

There were riots in the county, so I chose to believe him!"

"So I have another way."

"I have asked the colonel to explain to the staff the responsibilities and tasks of the military region troops participating in rescue operations. They are only responsible for rescuing, transferring or evacuating trapped personnel; protecting the safety of important targets; rescuing, transporting important supplies, participating in road and bridge repairs, and water search and rescue.

Professional rescue such as medical rescue, elimination or control of other critical dangers, disasters, and any other important actions will be discussed with the municipal command center before execution."

When many government officials heard this term, they couldn't help but feel that it was quite "fresh".

The attitude of other senior government officials was also the same, with very complicated expressions. After all, they had heard Ranaut say that this "Vidhi" had a way to minimize the harm caused by the hidden dangers of the Farakka Dam, but now that they saw it, they were confused.

There was a wavering.

She is about forty years old, with a black ponytail, a red mark between her eyebrows, a silk robe, and a brown-green ribbon hanging diagonally on her chest, which is quite Indian cultural style, which seems to highlight her identity.

.

Before Gu Ji could speak, Ranaut hurriedly retorted on his behalf.

Fatima made several phone calls in succession in the car, and it was not until the last call ended that she turned her head and said.

"At this point, I have thought of a solution. I have asked Colonel Swaraj to report to the Eastern Military Region, hoping to send additional soldiers into the town to assist the municipal agencies in the transfer plan."

“My idea is that people outside the main urban area can all move eastward, as far away from the banks of the Hooghly River as possible, and use the high terrain and hillsides to avoid flood disasters. The main urban area is the most densely populated, so all the people in the northern district can be moved to the central area.

, take shelter in tall buildings in the southern district, especially Matan Park, which is the highest in the city center. It is a large open space that can serve as a temporary disaster evacuation center. If the fire brigade can build flood control embankments here, the effect will be better than in

The river bank is much higher!”

Neha listened to the entire transfer plan, thought about it for a while, and felt that it was very feasible.

Neha only said one thing, and a fire captain wearing an orange reflective rescue jacket stood up behind him.

It turns out that he is the head of the state police department.

"Then start taking action now. The congressman and I are sitting at the municipal building headquarters, and all departments and units will immediately act according to the Level I emergency response plan!"

Several government officials replied in unison.

But Neha's frown still did not relax.

So there are a lot of commercial and cargo ships here.

The driver stuck his head out of the window, glanced twice and replied.

But everyone was hesitant for a while.

Marlowe's acting style is the same as his appearance, rough and direct. In fact, the execution style of their special border forces is also the same, everything is mission-focused.

Marlowe, the co-pilot, raised his head and glanced ahead.

Because Gu Ji had been asking Ranat to send additional anti-explosion troops for support, the head of the Police Department knew best what had happened at the Farakka Dam. He was thankful from the bottom of his heart that it was Gu Ji's command that saved the district police.

The dignity of the bureau, so at this critical moment, he was the first to stand up and support.

As soon as the congressmen heard that the army was to enter the town, they immediately hesitated about the planned action.

In a state-autonomous government system like India, generally they do not like to have the central military intervene.

Although Calcutta is a town they govern and protect, it is difficult to ensure that nothing will go wrong in the process if the poor people in the north are crowded together with the municipal elite.

More and more quarreling cultists gathered on the road.

A middle-aged man with a square face and black-rimmed glasses suddenly said, "I am the mayor of Calcutta Municipality. There are three districts in the north, center and south. The north district is the largest and the shantytown is the most densely populated. I am afraid that the middle and south districts cannot accommodate so many people."

of civilians.”

Every morning, groups of Hindus come to the Hooghly River and smear their bodies with river mud. After praying, they wash their bodies with clean water, thinking that they have washed away their sins and purified their bodies and souls. This is what Gu Ji said in the helicopter.

Those praying as seen above.

Gu Ji and Fatima also followed Maro into the off-road vehicle prepared by the military and headed to the Hooghly River to help the fire brigade evacuate the praying believers.

Only then did she understand why the chief secretary paid so much attention to Gu Ji on the phone. She didn't expect that he had such rich experience in disaster emergency response at such a young age. However, she still asked other people around her for their opinions and thoughts.

Especially the members of the Senate.

"Report to the captain, there seems to be a car accident at the intersection ahead. The drivers on both sides are having a dispute. Many vehicles are blocked here."

The implication is that the military will not bypass the municipal government and act alone, nor will it compete for credit and power.

"Multiple digestion?"

"Town planning can be roughly divided into the North District, the Middle District and the South District. The North District is mainly composed of historical old buildings and slums. The buildings are generally low, and the renovated shantytowns lack the ability to withstand severe floods, and are classified as 'high risk of damage'

level, but the Central District is different from the South District. It is the CBD of Kolkata and the residence of the elite. It has high terrain, many buildings, and Central Park."

His third way is water transport!

Kolkata is the largest river port in eastern India. It has the very prosperous Kolkata and Haldia terminals. It operates freight services to and from various ports in India and abroad. It also connects Kolkata with its twin city Howrah. It is also the landlocked country of Nepal.

, the seaport of Bhutan and Sikkim.

"What we need most now is people. If we want to move these 16 million people to a safe place, the mobilization difficulty we need to face must be hellish."

"We are already arranging the fire brigade to strengthen embankments around the river bank."

"Transfer? It's easy to say. There are now 16 million people in Calcutta. What kind of transportation is needed to move these people away in a short time!"

"Calcutta Docks?"

"Believe me, if Calcutta is to get through this crisis, the help of the military is indispensable. They have unparalleled quick action capabilities, strong organizational and mobilization capabilities, and professional rescue capabilities that ordinary police and fire fighters cannot."

Comparable."

That's right.

"If you can't wait any longer, honk your horn and ask the vehicles to get out of the way as quickly as possible and get through."
To be continued...