Additional safety measures taken around flood detention reservoir

Flood control measures including power cuts, water cuts, and traffic control will be implemented in 23 villages across 3 townships within the Dongdian detention reservoir area in Jinghai district, Tianjin, starting from August 3, local flood control authorities said in a notice issued Thursday.

During this period, vehicles and pedestrians are strictly prohibited from entering the area. Once the flood recedes, the power supply, water supply, and traffic will be promptly and orderly restored, it said.

A major flood occurred in the Haihe River, which is touted as the mother river of Tianjin, according to the official WeChat account of the Ministry of Water Resources.

The flood, which hit North China in the wake of heavy rains that have been brought by Typhoon Doksuri since Saturday, arrived in a total of 21 rivers within the five water systems of Haihe River, including the Beisan River, Yongding River, Daqing River, Ziya River, and Zhangweinan Canal.

Among them, six rivers saw water surge above the guaranteed safety levels and eight rivers saw the highest amount of flooding in historical record.

The Yongding, Daqing and Ziya rivers saw large-level flooding, it said.

According to a national watershed flood classification regulation (for trial implementation) issued by the Ministry of Water Resources, it is preliminarily determined that Haihe River has large watershed floods.

The same measures began to be implemented in Xiqing district in areas near the Dongdian reservoir starting at 3 pm on Thursday.