Chapter 177 Panic in the whole city

Chapter 177 Panic in the whole city

Buzz—!

Just when the quarrel between the group of Hindus and the drivers was at its fiercest, suddenly, a piercing buzzer siren echoed over the entire city, resounding throughout Kolkata.

It's an air raid siren! !

Everyone stopped what they were doing, and their whole bodies were as tense as a bow string that was fully drawn. They raised their heads stiffly and looked at the sky. Their cheeks were so frightened that they seemed to be stained with seven or eight different colors, one red and one red. Taerqing is full of panic.

This is normal. Air defense warnings are used for civil air defense in wartime, and in peacetime they are used for disaster relief and disaster forecasting and emergency notification in the event of emergencies. Even simulated air defense warnings that are not real-life situations will still remind people of the disaster. Occurrence, due to the human nature of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, panic is a normal physiological reaction.

Buzzbuzz

Ding!

The next second, drivers, passers-by, and Hindus touched their trouser pockets one after another. Even the mobile phones of several people in the military vehicle vibrated with messages.

He and Fatima took out their phones and saw a text message.

"According to the Central Cabinet Disaster Relief Team, at 5:49 a.m. on October 17, the water storage in the Farakka reservoir area has seriously exceeded the standard, and damage was found at the eastern connection point of the dam body, which may trigger a continuous breach of the Hooghly River and a huge flood. , in order to ensure the safety of people in Kolkata metropolitan area and effectively reduce the harm caused by floods, starting from 7:05 on October 17, 2024, a Level I response to natural disasters will be initiated, and the main urban area will be temporarily closed and controlled. The relevant The matters are announced as follows:

1. All stores, hotels, restaurants, enterprises, factories (except for people's livelihood security, food, power supply, water conservancy), and schools in the main urban area will be closed to ensure the basic supply of daily life supplies. Large supermarkets need to contact the disaster emergency headquarters immediately for docking. ;

2. Road traffic control will be implemented throughout the main urban area, and passenger lines, city buses, and taxis will be suspended, except for military vehicles, police vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances, medical vehicles, engineering rescue vehicles, and those holding a pass from the Municipal Disaster Emergency Response Headquarters. Motor vehicles are prohibited from driving on the road except for official vehicles and vehicles for maintenance purposes, as well as under special circumstances;

3. All Kolkata Municipality office staff, district committee office staff, police, firefighting, transportation, medical, and Indian Army Eastern Military District will all be involved in emergency response operations;

4. All residents in the main urban area shall move to the safe area planned by the disaster emergency headquarters in an orderly manner under the command of the nearest police, firefighting, and disaster emergency headquarters staff;

Disaster Emergency Response Command, Kolkata Municipality, West Bengal;

Kolkata’s joint prevention and control mechanism in response to heavy rains and floods;

October 17, 2024. "

"I didn't expect the municipal authorities to move so quickly..."

Fatima read the text message and was not surprised by the content.

Because whether it is an air defense warning or a text message blockade, it was all discussed by Gu Ji at a meeting with state government officials on the airport runway just now. Not only text messages, but also radio, television, and all information media channels are currently available. It was temporarily controlled by a command established by the municipality.

If we want to evacuate more than 16 million people, conventional emergency response plans will definitely not be able to do it. We must achieve unified command, hierarchical and sub-departmental responsibilities, and the joint efforts of the city's party, government, military, civilians, and all walks of life. Only then can it be possible to evacuate more than 16 million people in the shortest time. Completed within.

Before these operations can be carried out successfully, traffic must first be controlled.

"Oh my God! The flood is coming!"

"Ba Li Ba Li! Run! Everyone run!"

"No, I have to go to school to pick up my child, and my child is still at school!"

"I still have a lot of valuables at home. Get out of the way. I want to go home and pack my things right away!"

"What do you care about at this time? It's important to save your life! Run away! Police! Police, where is the safe zone? Tell us quickly..."

For a time, all the people fell into panic. Most of the people on the riverside rolled and crawled and fled the shore like a plague. The vehicles at the intersection honked their horns frantically, trying to escape from the water quickly. For this reason, even Several collisions occurred in succession.

But at this time, no one cared about whether their vehicles were damaged.

Seeing that the vehicles were unable to move, some drivers gave up decisively, opened their doors and fled south. At this time, motorcycles and yellow-green tricycles became the only means of transportation that could barely move.

"Brother! Wait, please take me with you, I'll give you money!!"

"Pull me! Pull me!! I'll give you money!"

"3,000 rupees per person! There is only one parking space left! Who wants to get in?"

"3,000 rupees! You are too damn dark!"

"Damn boar! Get off here! This car belongs to me now!"

"Ah! My motorcycle! My car! Don't run!"

…

Fear can drive people crazy.

Three-wheeled taxis that usually sell for only 12 rupees per kilometer now dare to ask for 3,000. Some strong young adults even snatched other people's vehicles on the spot. Frail old people were pushed aside, and young children were pushed aside. Sitting on the ground crying, panicked men and women with disheveled hair, rolling and crawling in the stagnant water, it was like a hell on earth.

Fatima seemed to be frightened by the crazy scene in front of her, and her tongue was a little stiff.

"How could it become like this..."

"It's normal. When people are worried and scared, they forget about themselves and everything else. They only lose their senses in their own sensory fear. They subconsciously vent their emotions and protect themselves. It's purely instinctive."

Gu knew a long time ago that doing so would trigger panic among the people, and violence, looting, and crime might occur.

But he had no choice. If he didn't tell the people the truth, or used some gentle words that couldn't express the seriousness of the catastrophic flood, many people might not take it seriously and would either go home slowly or refuse to cooperate with the government troops. In the end, the flood hit Come on, they will only be hurt.

In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken.

"Marlowe!"

"clear!"

Hearing Gu Ji's call, Marlow made a "click" sound, neatly loaded the AK-203 in his hand, set the speed switch to single-shot mode, pressed down the car window, and stretched out the muzzle of the gun, click!

There was a lot of movement from the AK gun series, and the rapid gunfire exploded over the intersection, like a switch, shutting down the entire world.

It was as if even time had stood still.

The streets that were noisy and smashed just now were now filled with the sound of heavy rain. The mobs who were looting frantically and ignoring the headquarters' disaster emergency response regulations were secretly moving sideways little by little, trying to avoid the horses. Luo's gun shot out of bounds, and more people lay on the ground with their heads in their hands, not daring to move at all.

Or does the military have control?

Gu Ji took the opportunity to take out the loudspeaker, opened the car window, and shouted at the top of his lungs:

“Everyone, listen, we are the staff of the disaster emergency response mechanism. I hope you will immediately abide by the provisions of the response notice issued by the municipal authority, park your vehicles on the roadside immediately, and resume traffic. Everyone must trust the government and the military. We believe we have the ability to handle this disaster, but if someone dares to disobey the notice or take advantage of the chaos to commit a crime, we will not let it go and will take tough measures immediately!"

"Sir, where should we go now?"

“Can’t we drive on motorcycles too?”

"Sir, my son is still in school. I...I have to pick him up! He is only eight years old, he can't do it alone!"

Maruo and Gu Ji's red and white faces frightened the panicked and crazy citizens to their senses on the spot. However, many people were still worried about this and that, and surrounded the military vehicle where they were, chattering and asking questions.

Fatima also came out and explained:

"Everyone, please rest assured that whether it is a school or a hospital, the municipal authorities have arranged for corresponding management personnel to conduct unified transfer and evacuation. If you rush there now, you will only waste time and rush to the empty space. Therefore, for your own safety and for the sake of your family, please Rush to the nearby command point as soon as possible and follow the emergency response staff to arrange evacuation!"

After the two men's earnest persuasion and the black muzzle of Marlowe's gun, the people restored order.

At this time, the municipal traffic police also arrived at the scene. The drivers returned to their vehicles one after another. Under the command of the traffic police, they began to park on both sides of the road, and the traffic lights at the intersection all turned red.

Da da da da…

In the sky, military helicopters flew overhead one after another. Gu Ji looked at the direction, which was to the north. That was the slum area of ​​Calcutta, which is also the most densely populated area. Something serious must have happened. .

Because he noticed that the task progress bar in the lower left corner had changed:

[Current death toll: 2/200]

Just at the beginning, two people had already died. Gu Ji could not imagine what would happen to this disaster if he did not blow up the two dams in front of him and force the senior officials of the West Bengal government to carry out emergency response transfer. How many people died!

"Move the car in front, drive over immediately!"

"Okay Captain!"

Under the command of the traffic police, the intersection was finally clear. At Marlow's order, the driver stepped on the accelerator and turned into the river edge on the left.

Wow…

Affected by the heavy rain, the water of the Hooghly River became extremely turbulent, and the waves kept hitting the stone embankment on the shore. At this moment, many fire fighters were busy evacuating the Hindus who were praying.

Yes.

Even with air raid sirens sounding, municipal authorities announcing, and people rioting and rioting, some people still refused to leave the edge of the river bank. They seemed to be isolated from the world, and the influence of the outside world had nothing to do with them. They just closed their eyes, Squatting in the stagnant water on the bank, smearing the soil on the bank while smearing it on my body, even if the heavy rain will soon wash it away, while still saying something plausibly.

Gu Ji never believed in these things, but he respected faith.

But the situation is really urgent now. He raised the loudspeaker to explain the seriousness of the matter. These devout believers remained unmoved, "There is no other way, Marlowe, you immediately bring people to take these people away from the river bank!" "

"Okay! Teams 1 to 5 follow me!"

Now, the troops of India's Eastern Military Region have already entered Calcutta. Marlowe now controls not only the two special border force groups of the 57th Mountain Division, but also an entire army column with nearly more than 1,500 people.

"Let me go! Don't disturb my prayers to Lord Shiva!"

"let go!"

"You vulgar soldiers, let me go! I won't leave here until my prayers are finished!"

"Ah——! Damn it!"

The soldiers did not expect that these believers would be so determined. An old Indian man wearing an orange sand robe even bit the soldier's wrist on the spot.

At the moment when the soldiers were about to fight back, Fatima shouted in time:

"Stop! Old man, for your safety, you must leave here immediately. The flood is about to pour into the city of Kolkata. By then, the Ganges water will be everywhere. As long as you are sincere, you can continue to pray in a safe zone!"

Needless to say, her words really moved many believers.

Gu Ji gave a thumbs up.

"Okay, Fatima, you can change this concept!"

"That's the fact. Isn't the Hooghly River where they pray is a tributary of the Ganges? Then the floods from the Hooghly River that pour into the city are also Ganges water!"

Fatima smoothed the ends of her hair that were wet by the rain, "Vidi, after the incident on the riverside is resolved, what should we do next? Is it really too late to move?"

"I don't know. The main key point is the speed of slum transfer in the North District."

Although Gu Ji arranged for technicians to be on the hillside near the Farakka Dam to keep a close eye on the condition of the dam and report to him and the headquarters, no one can predict when the dam will break.

Fifteen minutes later, with the cooperation of firefighters and army soldiers, no one was left within 20 meters of the riverside.

Gu Ji immediately asked Marlow to lead the army to the slums in the North District for support.

"The main problem now is the vehicle. Even if the traffic has been closed and controlled, there are still too few passenger cars, especially in several hospitals in the North District. The medical conditions are poor, there are many seriously ill patients, and there is a lack of medical equipment. Forced transfer is likely to happen on the road. Will die, so the evacuation speed is very slow!"

"Then we will find a way to draw 10 more passenger cars from the central and southern districts, as well as ships. We can add three more rounds to the northern section. In addition, let us draw 10 transport vehicles from the military district and transfer them all to the north. District, quickly!!”

On the off-road military vehicle, Gu Ji was busy talking to Chief Secretary Ranaut.

Nowadays, the streets of Kolkata have been completely taken over by the Traffic Bureau of the Police Department. Private cars, motorcycles, three-wheelers, bicycles and other vehicles are all parked on both sides. The middle of the road is smooth. It is hard to imagine that India, one of the most congested countries in the world, , there will be such a smooth day.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he hung up the phone, Fatima handed over her phone with an anxious face, "The technician responsible for monitoring the Faraka Dam just called and said that a landslide had just occurred on the slope east of the dam. Landslide, I’m afraid the dam won’t last long!”

"Now the main city has just transferred half of its people..."

Gu Ji gritted his teeth. If he continued at this pace, it would be difficult to complete the action plan before the flood came.

Rumble...