The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 648: A natural disaster, a great flood, has arrived. We Chinese are experts in flood control

Zhou Ming immediately reported:

“We have activated our emergency response.

First, for risk assessment, we dispatched three survey teams, led by the best hydraulic engineers and geologists. Equipped with compasses and levels, they hiked into the mountains to quickly determine the specific conditions of the landslide dam.

"In terms of monitoring and early warning, six observation points were set up on accessible commanding heights, and information was transmitted by radio.

At the same time, we mobilized the baojia heads of the villages and towns downstream and organized young and middle-aged people to take turns on duty. If any abnormality was found, they would immediately sound the gong to sound the alarm.

"In the future, every village and town will have electricity, and loudspeakers must be installed in place." Zhang Chi interjected at this time.

Zhou Ming nodded and pointed to several areas marked on the map:

"The most urgent thing is to relocate the people. We've already notified the counties downstream, asking them to immediately organize the evacuation of villagers to higher ground. But many people are reluctant to leave their belongings, making the work difficult."

"As for engineering measures..." Zhou Ming continued, "the key is to 'control the downstream flow' to prevent an instant dam collapse. If the survey team confirms that proactive intervention is necessary, we have prepared three plans."

“First, dig the spillway, also called the diversion channel.

This is the most commonly used and relatively reliable method.

One or several controllable channels are excavated on the top of the dam to guide the lake water to flow down slowly.

In order to control the flow rate, the trough can even be designed into an 'S-shape' to extend the water flow path and consume energy.

If the soil and rocks in the dam are loose, special reinforcement materials will need to be laid to prevent the trough from being eroded and expanded too quickly."

"Secondly, if there is favorable terrain on both sides of the landslide dam, such as a pass, we can consider excavating a spillway on the bank slope to discharge the water."

"Third, blasting to release the floodwaters. This is a last resort and should only be considered in extreme emergencies, when people downstream have been completely evacuated, and when there are no other options. Blasting is extremely risky because it can easily trigger an uncontrollable, full-scale flood."

Zhou Ming finally emphasized: "No matter which type of engineering intervention is adopted, it will require a lot of manpower, material resources and heavy machinery and equipment, and it will take time."

After listening to this, Zhang Chi did not hesitate at all. He glanced at the whole audience and made a decision immediately:

"Okay, let's do it this way. Time waits for no one, I give the order now."

Everyone's back straightened unconsciously.

"Divide into two groups."

"First, the 17th and 18th Infantry Divisions stationed in Siam will immediately mobilize all personnel to all towns and villages along the downstream coast.

The vanguard troops advanced at the fastest speed in trucks and Lynx assault vehicles. Their mission was to maintain order and resolutely, thoroughly and unconditionally evacuate all threatened civilians.

Tell the troops this is a death order, make sure no one is left behind. Tell them to show their military responsibility!"

"Second Route, Construction Division 2 of the Engineering Construction Group, immediately cease all work and assemble urgently.

Bring all necessary excavation and road-clearing tools and go to the nearest airport or train station and wait.

Their mission is to rush to the disaster-stricken area at all costs, and then go into the mountains!

Carry out the task of digging the spillway and spillway, and do everything possible to safely release the water from the landslide lake."

The so-called barrier lake is actually a naturally formed reservoir, but due to its high location, it is extremely dangerous.

It’s good to resolve it as early as possible.

"Transportation departments, take notice! From now on, all railway and highway routes leading to northern Siam will be placed under military control, with priority given to ensuring the transportation of disaster relief forces and supplies.

Limited domestic civil aviation routes must also be adjusted to fully support disaster relief efforts."

“In addition, notify the local government of Siam to mobilize all militia and reserve forces to cooperate with the military operation.

Influential organizations like Sanbaotang should especially do a good job of comforting and assisting the public and stabilizing their spirits."

Zhang Chi issued clear and decisive instructions one after another.

With him as the backbone, everyone calmed down and began to act separately according to orders.

At this time, the person in charge of the Engineering Construction Group looked embarrassed and raised his hand to speak:

"Commander-in-Chief, the troops and personnel can move into the mountains quickly, but... those large excavators and bulldozers weigh several tons or even dozens of tons.

The mountain roads are already in poor condition, and now they have been severely damaged by floods and mudslides. I am afraid... it will be difficult to transport goods to the vicinity of the landslide lake in a short period of time.

Without these giants, relying solely on manpower, the efficiency of digging the spillway would be very low, and I'm afraid it would not be able to keep up with the speed of rising water levels..."

This statement pointed out a crucial bottleneck. A murmur of discussion suddenly broke out in the conference room. This was indeed a thorny and practical problem.

When Zhang Chi heard this, his eyes lit up slightly.

He thought of the troop that had been training in secret and was equipped with helicopters.

"The problem of transporting large mechanical equipment..." Zhang Chi tapped his fingers lightly on the table with a smile on his lips. What a coincidence.

"I'll contact the Army to resolve it."

He looked at the officer in charge of communications:

"Connect me to Army Headquarters immediately. I want to see the head of the Air Cavalry Battalion.

Tell them that the time has come to put the 'hoisting' subject they have been training for to be put to the test in actual combat.

Have them prepare to go out immediately and wait for specific instructions."

Recalling his experience in his previous life, Zhang Chi estimated that it should be no problem for the dozen or so AH-1G helicopters they were equipped to carry the engineering machinery into the mountains.

Zhang Chi didn't explain further and made the decision directly: "It's settled. All departments must follow the instructions and act immediately. The meeting is adjourned."

Without any unnecessary nonsense, everyone immediately stood up and quickly left the meeting room. The entire Nanyang state machine began to operate at high speed and efficiency around the dangerous situation in northern Siam.

-----

The muddy flood flowed endlessly, carrying broken wood, weeds and the occasional floating livestock carcasses.

Village chief Song'en stood on the commanding heights of this small hill, looking at the vast ocean in front of him, and felt his heart was even colder than the flood.

He is fifty-three years old and has been the village chief of this village on the Chao Phraya River for most of his life. He has experienced more than one flood, but never one as big as this one.

Two days ago, with his sensitivity to the weather and river water as an experienced farmer, he realized that something was wrong. He risked his life, yelling and cursing, and finally drove more than a hundred people in the village to this small hilltop passed down from their ancestors for shelter from water.

Not long after they came up, a huge roar came from upstream, followed by a flood that pushed in like a wall, instantly engulfing the village where they had lived for generations.

Now, the highlands have become isolated islands.

There was endless turbid water all around them, and the water level was still rising slowly and steadily, eroding the last foothold under their feet.