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

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.

"Vidi, there is news from the Farakka Dam. The villagers gathered near the scene have been successfully evacuated by the anti-explosion troops. They are currently checking whether there are any missing people along the river basin."

"Okay, let them speed up the inspection 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.

This is also the first time 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 was dark, which made it obvious that she was not from a high caste.

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. .

Neha was slightly startled when she saw Gu Ji, as if she didn't expect him to be so young.

The attitude of other senior government officials was also the same, with very complicated expressions. After all, they had all 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.

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

"Hello Chief Minister, the matter is urgent. The Farakka Dam may break at any time, so we are running out of time. Has the state government taken any action yet?"

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

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

"We have deployed a total of 907 firefighters and city engineering teams. We are currently building a 90cm wide and 3m high temporary flood embankment with 30*70 cm fire 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 little slow. We have only laid over 130 meters for the time being..."

The Calcutta fire captain's sense of crisis was obviously stronger than that of the Guwahati captain. After all, the latter had to take the initiative to ask the county magistrate to build a flood embankment.

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

Gu Ji initially 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 river 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 used to be 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 people in the city to relocate."

"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!"

Without even thinking about it, the first person to speak up must be the Minister of Transportation and Communications.

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

"Vidhi has thought of this a long time ago. He does not plan to follow the traditional relocation plan of disaster victims and send people from Kolkata city to disaster evacuation centers. Instead, he will digest the disaster in multiple ways."

"Multiple digestion?"

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

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 researched the information when I came here. Calcutta The metropolitan area covers an area of ​​1,750 square kilometers, with the main urban area extending 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.”

"The town planning can be roughly divided into the North District, the Central 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' Class, but the Central District is different from the South District. It is the CBD of Kolkata and the residence of the elite. It is located on a high ground and has many buildings and Central Park.”

“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 huge 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 his plan and repeated it thoughtfully in her mouth.

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. civilians."

"So I have another way."

Gu Ji placed his finger on the end of a thin blue line in the center of the satellite map. This thin line was the Hooghly River, and the location he pointed at...

"Calcutta Docks?"

Several government officials replied in unison.

That's right.

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 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.

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

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.

Neha listened to the entire transfer plan, thought about it in her heart, and felt that it was very feasible.

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 members of the Senate.

But everyone hesitated for a while.

Although Calcutta is a town they govern and protect, it is difficult to ensure that there will be no mistakes in the process when the poor in the north are crowded together with the municipal elite.

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

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

It turned out that he was the head of the state police department.

Because Gu Ji had been asking Ranat to send additional anti-explosion troops for support, the head of the Police Department was the one who knew best what was happening 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.

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

In the end, Guji's emergency response measures were unanimously approved by the state government and municipal authorities.

But Neha's frown still did not relax.

"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."

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

While Gu Ji was talking, Marlow happened to walk up to him and whispered in his ear, "The staff has agreed to send 36 additional army columns for support."

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

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

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

"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."

"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 and transporting important materials, participating in road and bridge repairs, water search and rescue, Professional emergency rescue such as medical rescue, elimination or control of other critical dangers and disasters, and any other important actions will be discussed with the municipal command center before execution."

In order to dispel the concerns of these state government officials, General Gu Ji clearly explained the responsibilities and tasks of the army.

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

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.

"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!"

"yes!"

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

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.

The Hooghly River flowing through the city of Kolkata is a tributary of the Ganges. Devout Hindus regard the Ganges as a holy river and believe that the Ganges water can wash away the sins of the soul, so bathing is an important religious ritual that must be performed every day.

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, believing that they have washed away their sins and purified their bodies and souls. This is what Gu Ji said in the helicopter. See those praying.

As the proposer of the plan and the link between Calcutta municipal officials and officials of the Eastern Military Region, Gu Ji could only choose to follow the military soldiers. Moreover, his branch target has not been completed yet, which shows that the mission is still far away. not end yet.

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

"Vidi, I have reported everything you told me to the minister. 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."

"That's great, the more rescuers the better."

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

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

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

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

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

"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."

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.

This is also the reason why state governments and municipal authorities don't like the army. The different styles of the two will always produce various frictions and contradictions.

So the driver followed Marlowe's order, honking the horn wildly while moving towards the air raid position.

This behavior soon aroused the dissatisfaction of nearby drivers. They pressed down the windows and slapped the door panels frantically to vent their emotions. What Marlowe didn't expect the most was that the believers who were praying near the river... Because they honked their horns indiscriminately, which affected the prayer process, they all gathered around, banged on the hood of the car crazily, and yelled curses.

More and more squabbling cultists gathered on the road.

Ten, thirty, fifty...

Gu Ji did not expect that these Hindus would be so crazy. The traffic that was originally blocked has now become difficult to move, and it is like a large-scale swearing scene.

Bang bang bang bang!

Listening to the flapping outside the car, Fatima turned to look at Gu Ji: "What should we do now?"

Woo--buzz--!