Dear Jung Chang,
I heard about the recent heavy rain and flooding in Beijing on the news and I really felt awful especially since I know that you live in the centre of the city on the ground floor of an apartment building. I’m almost certain you have been affected by the bad weather.
You might remember me telling you about my experience of flooding in Mozambique when I was working there in 2000. The place I was staying at was completely covered in water and I lost all my possessions. I had no way of contacting anyone, no money or identification documents. The hours leading up to my rescue were also difficult.
It helped that I didn’t panic when I was waiting for help to arrive. The water will eventually dry up but you might need to destroy items that have been exposed to too much water. You are more than welcome to come and stay with me in Hohhot until you sort everything out as the weather here has not been extreme.
Take care,
Ha Jin