Landslides had been going on since the earthquake struck and crashing sounds were heard throughout the valley.
At 9:35 AM, Mr. Hu, a member of the local committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), returned from a patrolling tour and said that some parts of the Nanyue Village were still collapsing. Roads were blocked, preventing us from finding out anything about the situation.
At 10:40 AM, two helicopters were seen in the sky. We knew that both the city and the province were concerned about us.
At 12:00 AM, the new death toll was reported: 2 from Team 7, 12 from Team 6 and 8 from Team 4 in Nanyue Village; 2 from Team 1 and Team 2 in Dongyue Village; 2 unidentified people in the scenic spot; and 2 others were missing.
[Morning, May 14] Control food consumption
At 8:00 AM, roads were still blocked and phones could not be accessed.
We held a temporary Party committee meeting. Judging by messages from various channels, many townships in Dujiangyan were damaged. Among them, Hongkou Village and Xiang'e Village might be severely destroyed.
It seemed that we had to make efforts to help ourselves. The first thing to do was to control food consumption until rescue personnel arrived.
The government bought necessary items from various stores and allocated supplies to the masses. Good news: Planes were sent to airdrop food and drinks.
Leaders named and allocated to specific tasks:
I stayed in Liping Village, taking charge of the food distribution at temporary refugee sites and accepted airdropped supplies.
Town chief Zhao led a team to inspect the disaster situation in villages lying high in the mountain.
Secretary Wang's right leg was swollen, but he insisted on leading a team to Dongyue Village and Nanyue Village.
Good news: We have received water, food and medicine from the city.
Unfortunately, we couldn't drive vehicles yet since we had to save petroleum. Gasoline was being saved for use at the most critical moment.
[Afternoon, May 14] Temporary Party branch secretary soon appointed in Nanyue Village
At 12:30, the Party branch secretary and two other Party committee members in Nanyue Village were confirmed dead.
The Party committee made a decision that Tang Hai would be temporarily in charge of issues regarding Nanyue Village. This young guy behaved quite well during this time. Villagers trusted him and had faith that he could undertake such an important task.
Temporary Party committee and government of Longchi Township.
All documents, files and cash in the financial office had to be well managed. They could not be messed up given this serious situation.
A rumor was spread among the local people that Longchi would sink. People were rather scared. We had to respond to their fear rationally and remove their worries.
Finally, we made contact with the outside world.
At 5:54 PM, some officials from the city authorities marched on foot to Longchi. The Hainan Public Security Frontier Medical Team also followed.
[May 15] Warning line drawn, warning board set up.
At 6:30 AM, a Party committee meeting was held again to clear our minds so we could begin relief work with the incoming rescue troops.
Today's main task: dig out dead bodies and dispose of them.
The Hainan Public Security Frontier Hospital will carry some heavily wounded people to the city for treatment today. Roads are blocked and it might be dangerous to carry them on foot but family members must have agreed to take the risk.
Another hidden danger: Due to highway tunnel construction, some explosives and sticks of dynamites had been previously buried near the tunnel. After reporting the situation to headquarters, we ordered residents around to evacuate this area. A warning line was drawn and warning boards set up.