A 1,500-meter hole was blasted Sunday in one of the flood
protection dykes on the Huaihe River in a dramatic move to release
the rising flood waters.
With the river running at a record-high of over 26 meters, the move
came amid no sign of let-up in the torrential rains that have hit
this part of eastern China.
The explosion tore a hole in one of main dykes on the river in
Anhui Province and allowed water to flow into the lower reaches of
Tangduo Lake. Roads and fields adjacent to the dyke were
immediately submerged as the torrent was released.
Ahead of the blasting, over 17,000 locals were evacuated from those
areas likely to be affected by the released flood water.
Water levels had exceeded the danger mark for several days running
on the swollen Huaihe River, threatening mainstream dykes along its
course.
Over the years there have been 10 controlled explosions to release
flood waters into Tangduo Lake, the latest being in 1991.
Flood water diversion areas have helped alleviate the threat posed
by flooding, but they could offer no guarantees given the threat
posed by recent continual torrential rains, warned Zhang Zhitong,
deputy executive director of the Office of the State Flood Control
and Drought Relief Headquarters.
At
the weekend President Hu Jintao once again stressed that every
effort should be made to protect lives and property, and strengthen
necessary dyke defenses.
He
urged Hui Liangyu, vice-premier and the general director of Zhang's
headquarters, responsible for overseeing flood defense work in
Anhui to make even greater efforts to reduce losses caused by the
floods.
Thousands of officials, residents and soldiers are engaged in the
fight to strengthen the dykes along the Yangtze River and other
stretches of the threatened Huaihe River.
All 446 potential weak spots in the dykes along the Huaihe River
and the flood diversion areas have been repaired and restored.
Heavy to torrential rains are expected to strike the lower valley
of the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers in coming days, warned the
meteorology division under the State Flood Control and Drought
Relief Headquarters.
From Saturday to Sunday, medium to heavy rains affected the
northern part of Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan provinces, the
eastern part of Hubei Province, and Chongqing Municipality. The
southern areas of Anhui and Jiangsu provinces have suffered
torrential rains.
One person has been killed by floods in Nanjing, the capital city
of Jiangsu Province.
(China Daily July 7, 2003)