CHAPTER 455: CHAPTER 453 RESCUE

The situation in the disaster area is far more severe than Chen Xin initially anticipated.

The earthquake caused many shelters to collapse and be damaged, with power, water, and heating all disrupted. The city is filled with collapsed buildings and fallen snow, and the survivors are either barely hanging on in the ruins of the shelters or have escaped only to freeze to death in the icy winds.

For people like Li Xi who managed to hold on until rescue arrived, surviving was a one in a hundred chance.

Compared to when he was in Lin City, the situation here is undoubtedly much worse.

Lin City was merely buried in snow; the city’s heating and power weren’t interrupted, and the collapsed medical system was merely due to the overload of patients.

But in this current city, the power network has already collapsed. Although the power plant was only lightly damaged and is being repaired under the city government’s organization, the power supply lines were severed by the earthquake, making it impossible to restore power even after the plant is repaired.

Even though each shelter has an independent power supply from isotope thermoelectric batteries, the damage to the shelters themselves has rendered most incapable of providing power or heat.

Survivors can only hide in the ruins that have not completely collapsed, doing everything possible to maintain their body temperature, hoping not to freeze to death before rescue arrives.

But even this hope is slim.

A large number of survivors are buried under the collapsed ruins of the shelters, and the dilapidated buildings outside the shelters are collapsing. The collapsed buildings have buried the entrance of the shelters, and without external rescue, these shelters are likely to become ready-made tombs.

Moreover, time is running out. In temperatures of tens of degrees below zero, lacking food and warmth, these people cannot hold on for long.

However, the rescue teams brought by the eight arks have limited resources, and without heavy machinery, it is challenging to dig out these collapsed buildings.

How to rescue the survivors buried under the rubble more quickly and effectively has become the primary problem facing the rescue team.

The local city government has already contacted the rescue team, and some organized manpower is cooperating with the rescue team to conduct searches, but it still feels like a drop in the bucket.

At the temporary rescue point, the local Vice Mayor was anxiously discussing with Chen Xin and others how to carry out the rescue operation.

"The city government has a batch of engineering machinery that can be deployed to the rescue operation." The Vice Mayor said sternly to Chen Xin and others about the rescue forces the city could provide while also worrying, "But the key issue is the manpower shortage. Your rescue team brought eight hundred people, and the city government has managed to organize just over a thousand people, making a total of only two thousand which is far from enough!"

The leader of the rescue team nodded in agreement, frowning and saying, "There are too many collapsed shelters. Even if everyone can use an exoskeleton to exert the strength of several people, we still can’t dig out so many collapsed shelters in a short time! We must have more people or more powerful means to dig out these shelters!"

"Before we set out, the state had already been organizing follow-up rescue forces. The Air Force will send transport planes with paratroopers to assist. I had Captain of the Chen Long contact the rear, and they should arrive by six o’clock tomorrow morning," Chen Xin communicated the information he knew to the others while glancing at his watch, "It’s 2 AM now; there are four hours to go."

"Then let’s do whatever we can to start the rescue. In such frigid weather and with the earthquake having happened for so long, many people may not be able to hold on any longer!" As a local official, the Vice Mayor knew that even if some people managed to survive initially, they would not be able to hold on for long in such cold weather.

Unlike in the past, where temperatures weren’t as low, survivors could hold on for quite some time even without food or drink. But now, in temperatures tens of degrees below zero, it’s possible that people may not last even a few hours.

So it’s imperative to conduct the rescue operations as quickly as possible.

"Deploy that batch of engineering machinery into the rescue work first, and also try to clear an area for a drop zone to be ready for airborne assistance," the leader proposed the most feasible suggestion given the current situation.

Chen Xin had no objections to this and nodded, adding, "Our rescue team is equipped with exoskeletons, so we can divide them into several squads to first check the condition of the collapsed shelters and open up rescue channels.

Even if we can’t get people out, we should communicate that help is coming and deliver essential food and water into the collapsed shelters to give survivors hope!

Additionally, we need to quickly set up the tents we brought to properly accommodate the rescued survivors!"

"I’ll take care of the accommodation work, and Vice Mayor Zhao, please organize the manpower for the rescue operations!" The rescue team leader made arrangements without further ado after hearing Chen Xin’s suggestions.

"Okay, I’ll handle the rescue affairs!" The Vice Mayor readily agreed without any formality and said to Chen Xin, "Please take care of appealing for assistance to the higher authorities, Academician Chen!"

Chen Xin certainly did not shirk away from this task, nodding in agreement, "No problem, I will contact the higher authorities to strive for more resources and manpower."

After agreeing on the division of labor, everyone wasted no time and immediately began their respective tasks.

However, upon stepping out of the meeting tent and looking at the bustling rescue point and the ark hovering above, Chen Xin suddenly said to the team leader, "Categorize the survivors. Those who are in relatively good condition should rest for a while and then help with the rescue, even if they can’t help dig others out, they can assist at the rescue point by helping to place newly rescued survivors.

As for the survivors in more serious condition, have the smaller airships transport them to the ark, where the conditions are slightly better and more conducive to their recovery. Keeping them at the rescue point would take up space and their mental state would affect the other survivors at the rescue point."

"Alright, I’ll arrange it. Academician Chen, please hurry and contact the higher authorities!" The leader also thought this was a good plan after hearing Chen Xin’s suggestion.

The ark now has unloaded most of its supplies, leaving the internal space free, which can indeed accommodate some of the more severely affected survivors.

If the ark needed to transport supplies, it could also take these survivors to the rear for treatment, which would not affect the use of the ark.

After giving his suggestions, Chen Xin boarded a small airship and returned to the Chen Long ark, planning to use its communication equipment to inquire about follow-up support.