For the people of Wuhai, in the western part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, December 17, 2001 was the night they lost their city.

In a matter of 15 minutes, an ice flood in the Yellow River, caused by melting ice and strong winds, crushed dams and pummeled Wuhai. Two hours later, five villages were destroyed.

Officials with the information department of Wuhai said ice floods have probably happened every year in the past, but recent high temperatures thawed the ice layers in upper reaches of the river faster than anticipated. The night of the flood, it was minus 17 C.

Due to swift evacuation efforts, all 4,000 people in the devastated areas managed to reach safe ground, but their houses, farms and livestock did not survive.

In the following days, many villagers returned home exhausted after walking for more than an hour along the icy road before reaching the devastated area.

The No. 2 Primary School of Wuhai was destroyed with the exception of the national flag fluttering in the wind. The chairs, desks and textbooks were frozen in ice.

Most of the students have been sent to urban schools to continue their studies.

Zhang Qingmei, 76, burst into tears at the sight of his collapsed house. He described how his son jumped into the icy water to gather displaced wheat and corn.

Zhang and his children left everything behind when they fled. They returned to find everything from the television to clothing frozen in ice. About 3,000 kilograms of food were also destroyed.

"All we had earned for decades had gone away," exclaimed Zhang.

Like most of the villagers, Zhang and his family moved to a house rented by the local government in urban areas. Financial support is coming through a local government subsidy of 200 yuan (US$24) per person.

In addition to losing their homes, the farmlands submerged in the flood will be hardly arable in the coming spring.

The local government created a migration plan for the five devastated villages, including building new settlements at safer locations this spring. However, there is no construction money available.

(China Daily January 18, 2002)