Extreme Weather, Strict COVID-19 Controls Batter China’s Sichuan Province

A health worker takes a swab sample from a man to be tested for COVID-19 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province on Sept. 1, 2022. -/AFP via Getty Images

Sichuan, a landlocked, southwestern province in China, has turned into a disaster-stricken area in the past month.

On top of the natural disasters such as record high temperatures, historic drought, rampant wildfires, and floods, to the latest earthquake, Sichuan is also dealing with the Chinese regime’s strict pandemic prevention measures.

Local residents air their vexations online, most complain about the suffering the COVID-19 controls has caused.

Extreme Weather

In July and August, Sichuan and Chongqing experienced extreme heat waves that lasted more than 70 days, which goes on record as the worst heat wave in China since 1961. On Aug. 18, Chongqing Municipality registered a record high of 45 C (113 F).

The high temperatures, coupled with a dearth of rain, brought a severe drought that led to cracked dry mud in many farmlands, and even sections of the Yangtze River dried up, which affected the production of hydroelectricity in the province.

Sichuan, China’s biggest hydropower producer, saw its hydroelectric capacity drop by 50 percent in August. As a supplier of 30 percent of the nation’s total hydroelectric generation, the drought poses a major risk of power shortage to the entire nation.

Not only the farmers are suffering, the manufacturing sector was forced to stop the processing lines, household power was off, and electric car stations were closed.

Farmers inspect a field parched by drought in Neijiang, Sichuan Province, China, on Aug. 26, 2022. VCG/Getty Images

Wildfires broke out in multiple regions, affecting numerous residential communities, and burning down multiple homes. Between Aug. 17 and 25, at least 14 extensive forest fires broke out, covering 10 districts and counties of Chongqing.

While the heat wave and drought were peaking, torrential rains started in the evening of Aug. 27. The overflowing rivers and mountain floods devastated parts of both Chongqing and Sichuan.

Tightening Controls

The upcoming national meeting of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has the entire country further tightening its zero-COVID policy.

On Sept. 1, Chengdu City put 21 million residents under lockdown, and ordered mass nucleic acid testing when the authorities extended the lockdown three days later.

On Sept. 4, a video showing a Chengdu mother mourning the loss of her son over the week-long went viral. The forced isolation meant the boy missed a critical treatment for his heart disease.

On Sept. 5, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Luding County, causing local water and power outages. The Chinese admitted 74 were killed and 253 injured.

While major cities, such as, Chengdu and Chongqing, also felt the quake, despite the aftershocks that continued to rattle the area and severe damage to houses and roads, the authorities insisted on enforcing the zero-COVID policy—residents were locked inside their homes, and people still queued for PCR testing.

Netizens revealed that during the earthquake, residents remained confined to their apartments or residential complexes. They could not escape because the lobby doors were locked. Many were simply ordered to go back upstairs by the pandemic prevention workers at the residential complexes.

The aftermath of the earthquake in Hailuogou in China's southwestern Sichuan Province on Sept. 5, 2022. STR/AFP via Getty Images

Locals’ Sadness

Online videos showed residents trying to break the locked doors, or arguing with the community staff in hopes of leaving the epicenter, but the community staff allegedly responded, “Has the building collapsed?”

Many local residents expressed their sadness online while enduring the catastrophe.

Netizen, “The boundary-less Internet Zhao,” wrote: “Numbed. Is Chengdu cursed or what? It was so hot that people turned on the air conditioners. But, the power shortage made everyone go out to cool down by splashing [in] water. Then the flash flood pushed everyone back to the indoor swimming pool. Suddenly, the flare-ups of the pandemic forced Chengdu under silent management. When everyone was forced to stay at home, the earth quaked. Is this an extinction? It’s a pity that I’m still alive.”

Some netizen responses to the COVID curbs on top of the natural disasters best describe the irony of the policy.

One netizen wrote, “Please follow the strict measures: Only one person per family can leave, with a 2-hour limit each time.”

Another said, “Don’t run when there’s an earthquake, the body temperature will get too high when you run; and you’ll not be able to get back in the apartment with a high body temperature!”

A netizen stated, “When the earthquake struck, my first reaction was not to run or hide, but to protect my cell phone subconsciously. Maybe I was afraid that the house would collapse and I would be buried alive; and when the rescue workers came, they would refuse to dig me out because I could not show them my green QR code and PCR test result.”

Zhang Ting contributed to this report.