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Yangtze city at center of China's latest flood battle

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-28 20:08

WUHAN - More than 30,000 soldiers, emergency workers and residents are on guard at dikes near Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, as the city on Wednesday braced for flood waters from two swollen rivers.

According to the Yangtze Water Resources Commission, flood peaks of the mainstream of the Yangtze River and the Hanjiang River, the Yangtze's largest tributary, are expected to converge in Wuhan within 24 hours.

The city has a population of about 9.1 million and is a major transport and economic hub in central China. It stands at the center of China's latest battle against floods which have left more than 1,250 people dead or missing this year.

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The level of Hanjiang River, the highest in two decades, rose to 35.39 meters when it passed Xiantao City near Wuhan at midday Wednesday.

Workers were on standby as authorities withheld an order to open flood gates to divert water from the swollen Hanjiang River to a walled low-lying area covering 600 square kilometers.

The low-lying area, stretching from Xiantao to southeast parts of Wuhan, comprises farmland and fish ponds. It is designed as an emergency reservoir during serious floods.

About 5,000 residents in Xiantao and another 25,000 in southeast Wuhan were evacuated overnight.

The water diversion system was last put to use in 2005 when the level of Hanjiang reached 35 meters.

If the water were not diverted, dikes guarding two of the three major districts in Wuhan and nearby Hanchuan City might be breached, local water resources officials said earlier.

In Hanchuan, closer to Wuhan, tens of thousands of soldiers, armed police and residents were ordered to guard the city's 161 kilometers of dikes and flood prevention facilities around the clock.

A contingency team of 2,000 experienced emergency workers and 1,000 armed police was stationed in Hanchuan, ready to fix dike breaches as soon as possible, local officials told Xinhua. Rocks, sandbags, earth and steel nets were prepared.

The level of Hanjiang is forecast to peak at 32.05 meters, over the 31.16-meter danger line, when it passes Hanchuan at 11 p.m. Wednesday, provincial water resources officials said.

In Wuhan, local flood control authority has raised the alert level to the second highest level, triggering the mobilization of emergency workers and the military. The highest level signals possible closures of schools and factories and the mobilization of millions of the city's adult residents to join the flood prevention efforts.

But officials were confident that the worst scenario could be avoided as flood control systems, including the Three Gorges Dam, were working well and no major rains are forecast in the near future.

In Yichang City, the Three Gorges Dam experienced the highest water flow of the year -- about 56,000 cubic meters per second.

The dam withstood the flow with a discharge rate of 40,000 cubic meters per second, accumulating 16,000 cubic meters of water per second in the reservoir.

After passing the dam, the flood peak is expected to flow through the mainstream of the Yangtze River and reach Wuhan before Thursday. P ? Rainstorms have lashed a dozen provinces, including Shaanxi, Sichuan and Henan, this summer, triggering floods and landslides.

A total of 333 people have been killed in rainstorms and floods across China since July 14 while 300 others were still missing, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Tuesday.

As of 4 pm Tuesday, the rainstorms and floods had affected more than 40 million people, destroyed 140,000 homes and 417,000 hectares of crops, and led to the relocation of 3.1 million people, the ministry said.