Between June 7 and 9, most of China’s Hunan province was soaked with torrential rains. Following the storm, massive flooding claimed huge areas of the region. Auntie Yuan’s house was totally destroyed by the merciless floods.

It’s easy to feel helpless after losing the house you inherited from your ancestors and have lived in for decades.  Although it was old, the structure was firm and solid and the interior was bright.  It was comfortable and convenient for all members of the four-generation family.

Rising waters

On the morning of June 20, World Vision staff came to Auntie Yuan’s township to conduct an assessment.  They met the woman standing among ruins.  She described the flood’s impact on a family spanning nearly eight decades of life, from her nearly 80-year-old mother-in-law to a baby boy less than one week old.

Auntie Yuan remembers waking at midnight on June 9.  Although her family of six was asleep, someone hurried to knock at their door crying “Flood is coming! Run!” Auntie Yuan got dressed instantly and woke everyone in the house.  The water began surging into the house.  “Seeing that my feet were submerged in water, I cried out loud to wake everyone up,” she remembers.

Auntie Yuan and her husband carried their old mother out of the house.  Their daughter-in-law bundled her newborn baby.  Then Auntie Yuan remembered: “Oh! Yuting is still in the house!” She ran back to find that her granddaughter was still sleeping in the middle of the rapidly rising water.  “There was no time for me to be scared,” Auntie Yuan remembers. She grabbed her granddaughter and ran from the house.

Everything gone

It was raining heavily. Although the weather was cold, they did not have enough time to get more clothes. Moments after leaving the home, it was swept away by the floods. 

Fortunately, no one in the family died.  The local government arranged for them to move into a primary school with other flood-stricken victims. Soon after, Auntie Yuan’s family moved in with one of their relatives.

Auntie Yuan cannot forget her old house.  Through tears, she says: “I miss my old house! I have lived there for decades. We cannot protect the inheritance from our ancestors. I don’t know what to do.” 

Besides the house, all of Auntie Yuan’s furniture, clothes, quilts and food reserves were swept out. Her paddy fields were ruined and pigs all washed away. The whole family was left with nothing. They could only depend on the relief resources distributed by the government and the help from relatives.

Auntie Yuan feels better now. But she wants to rebuild her home as soon as possible. She will find a safe place to rebuild a better and stronger house. “You only feel secure when you have a home.”