Flood taming begins with sluice gates open
(GUO NEI, China Daily staff)
07/04/2003
The sluice gates at the Wangjiaba section of the Huaihe River, one of China's major rivers, were opened early yesterday morning to divert flood water caused by heavy rainfall, threatening thousands of people in the area. It was the first time in 12 years that the sluice gates at Wangjiaba, located in Funan County of Anhui Province in East China, have been opened to divert the river's flood water, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. The water level at Wangjiaba reached 29.34 metres at 11 pm on Wednesday, surpassing the safety line and posing a serious threat to both the area on the upper reaches and local residents. A total of 150,000 people live in the Mengwa Flood Diversion Area in Funan and its neighbouring county of Yinshang, among whom nearly 15,000 were directly affected by the diversion and had been evacuated by Wednesday afternoon. The flood water being diverted will submerge up to 12,000 hectares of farmland. Premier Wen Jiabao issued instructions on Wednesday on the flood-control work, stressing that all efforts should be made to ensure the safety of people and minimize property losses. Wen required flood control authorities and local governments to go all out to make the flood diversion proceed smoothly. Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu, also head of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, presided over an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening to discuss the Huaihe River's flood control work. Hui urged the local authorities in Anhui to make every effort to ensure successful flood diversion, closely follow the flood situation and weather changes, monitor the river's embankments and prepare for any emergency. Since June 21, the Huaihe River valley has been hit by continuous rainstorms and even torrential rains, leading to a rapid rise of water levels on the upper and middle reaches of the river. The Central Meteorological Observatory forecast that heavy rainfall will continue in different parts of China in the next few days and may cause more damage. Floods have claimed at least 154 lives this year. (HK Edition 07/04/2003 page1)
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