Moving out of disaster-prone zone
Print Edition
Seeing his faded sofa being loaded onto a neatly packed truck, Hu Wucheng felt slightly lost. This was the 40-year-old鈥檚 last night in Hujialiang Village where he was born and raised.
A family member came over and nudged him out of the daze. 鈥淭ime to go. We don鈥檛 have to live in fear once we leave here.鈥
With an altitude of around 2,100 meters, Hujialiang is situated on a narrow, stiff mountain ridge in Zhouqu County, a geologically fragile area in northwest China鈥檚 Gansu Province.
Over the past decade or so, Zhouqu has witnessed a number of severe natural disasters. In August 2010, a horrendous mudslide swept across part of the county, killing over 1,000 people.
In recent years, the geological situation in Hujialiang has been deteriorating. Every rainy season had left new scars on Hu鈥檚 house, a property gained through years of hard work far away from home as well as borrowing money.
Last summer, a rainstorm-triggered landslide in Hujialiang was the last straw. Hu鈥檚 courtyard was basically ruined and his gate was washed away, while some of his neighbors鈥 houses sank several meters. All those affected were forced to move into temporary tents for shelter.
Earlier this year, experts in geology were sent to Hujialiang for hazard assessment, which led to the conclusion that the village was no longer habitable.
鈥淭he experts said the body of the mountain was severely unstable, and moving away was the only solution,鈥 said Dou Jianglong, village Party chief of Hujialiang.
The provincial government has been mulling over relocating some of Zhouqu鈥檚 population to safer regions for years. In June, the first phase of the relocation project was kicked off, prioritizing those living in the most dangerous areas.
Several trips were organized beforehand for villagers to see their future homes located around 500 kilometers away in a newly developed district adjacent to the provincial capital Lanzhou.
鈥淥ur neighbors who came back from the tour were impressed by the environment and convenience there, such as transportation, job opportunities, and children鈥檚 education,鈥 said Hu. 鈥淏ut for me, the most important thing was staying away from disasters.鈥
Hu was among the first batch of migrants. On August 7, an eight-hour bus ride brought his family of six and all belongings to their new home. 鈥淚 cried a little on the bus,鈥 Hu recalled. 鈥淏ut generally speaking, I was in a good mood and full of hope.鈥
Around a week into his new life, Hu began feeling better. The house is big and has a courtyard, in addition to an allocation of 8,000 square meters of farmland.
鈥淚鈥檝e had sound sleep every night since I came here,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t takes just 30 minutes on public transportation to get downtown, and our home is a five-minute walk to a fancy supermarket.鈥
The whole moving process cost Hu nothing. Moreover, the provincial government offers a subsidy of 100,000 yuan (US$15,440) and a loan of 50,000 yuan at discounted interest.
Hu has decided to run a small retail business at his doorstep.
He now just wants to be a father who could pick up his kids from school.
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