Lessons of the storm

Response on the roads

In response to the rains, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources sent 39 teams to survey 366 highways extending 3,761 kilometers across the city from July 31 to Aug 4. The results of the survey, released on Aug 6, warned that 2,005 sections are vulnerable to collapse if severely flooded.

The bureau said warning signs will be set up at perilous sections to alert drivers and passers-by. During heavy rains, the district and township governments will station officials to safeguard the risky roads if required, the bureau said.

City life is not as safe as people think, according to Li Wei, a senior member of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, an independent NGO. "We get all sort of requests for help: a hornet's nest on a balcony, people losing their way while hiking, people trapped in an elevator," he said. "It might be shocking to hear, but people often died in places they were most familiar with, simply because they were too relaxed and ignored the potential dangers."

For Wu Baoguo, 42-year-old taxi driver, the news that a driver had drowned in the center of Beijing during the July 21 storm, when a 4-meter flash flood engulfed his vehicle, sounded alarm bells.

Wu watched an online tutorial that teaches drivers to break windows and escape from a flooded vehicle. The video was uploaded to Youku, one of China's most popular video-sharing websites, two days after the fatal deluge. So far, it's been watched nearly 3 million times and has garnered more than 26,000 comments.

"For any driver, the worst nightmare would be getting stuck in the car and drowning," Wu said. "My wife insisted that I put a safety hammer in my car, but I know the safest thing would be to never drive in extreme weather conditions," he said.

On Aug 7, the vehicle management division of Beijing Traffic Management Bureau held its first rescue drill to show drivers how to escape from a submerged vehicle. Fire extinguishers and safety hammers were shown to be the most effective tools for breaking reinforced window glass.

In the drill, the glass shattered after being hit twice with a fire extinguisher. Under Chinese law, manufacturers are obliged to equip every car with a fire extinguisher, which is usually located under the driver's seat.

However, not all manufacturers adhere to the rules, as Du Zhengxing, a 31-year-old from Beijing's Haidian district, discovered when he purchased his car earlier this year. "I believe a fire extinguisher is a necessity and so I bought one, just to be on the safe side. It may help me out if I'm trapped in the car someday," he said.

Although, some motorists have complained that the safety hammers currently on sale are too small to smash a window covered by a plastic film, one officer in the drill demonstrated that technique is more important that brute force by easily smashing a car window by striking at the weaker areas around the edges.

The officer said safety hammers have to be manufactured according to a national standard and drivers should refuse to buy those that don't carry a certificate of authenticity.

The police have advised drivers to retract the front seat and squad down to maximize the force with which they strike the glass. Moreover, drivers should also check the depth of the water during a downpour and release the car's electric locks in advance. Concerned residents can apply online for a training session in Beijing's Shunyi district.

After the deluge, Zhuoka Electric Device Co of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, began selling safety hammers online at a price of 148 yuan. "In the last 15 days, we have sold around 8,000 on Taobao," said Yao Min, a company salesman, adding that the volume of sales was surprising.

"Next summer, we will prepare earlier and sell other types of survival equipment, such as car covers and tow ropes. " he said.

For Cui, the storm has introduced an unexpected and unwelcome element to her life. "As a person who lives alone, I've always worried about losing my keys or a gas leak or burglary," she said. "But now I have one more thing to worry about, natural disasters."