Chinese authorities are now the subject of great ire after survivors of the massive flood that hit the country's northern region believe that their delayed action on the disaster is being covered up.
As of Monday, July 25, the Ministry of Civil Affairs put the number of fatalities in northern China to 164 after the torrential rains brought about massive flooding.
Aside from that, another official was suspended for reportedly conducted poor flood control measures in the province of Hebei, the South China Morning Post stated.
Now, a report from Aljazeera revealed that many citizens particularly those who lost loved ones to the flood are angry at officials for the late response to the calamity.
"The image of my children struggling in the water, you can't imagine how horrible it was. I can't help thinking if someone could have given us a warning to evacuate, just 10 minutes, we could have run away," Yang Xiaorui, a mother who lost her children to the flood, told the outlet.
As of Aljazeera's count, five officials were already punished for the lack of action during the disaster while locals are still mad that authorities failed to warn them of the incoming calamity.
"If we got an early warning at least we could have moved some valuable things and our children away before the water arrived," another flood survivor identified as Li Cuifen stated.
The provinces of Henan and Hebei were under bad weather for five days which led to flooding particularly in low-lying areas. This resulted to the displacement of over 5,000 residents and the death of over 100 citizens, including children
Twenty-one year-old Gao Longtao was among those affected by the calamity and one who was not satisfied with a mere apology from the mayor of their locality.
"Villagers and I think the apology from the mayor is only a political show to reduce his political mistakes; it's useless. He didn't do anything helpful to us. My house is destroyed, and some families even lost their sons and daughters. We need the government to help us and give us confidence to rebuild our home," he told the Los Angeles Times via phone interview.