Floods at Hongze Lake and Yangtze River Valley Serious

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 09, 2003

Floods at Hongze Lake and Yangtze River Valley Serious

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A senior official with the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Wednesday urged caution following floods at Hongze Lake and the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River.

Updated information released by the headquarters showed that water levels at all major hydraulic observation stations along the Huaihe River continued to exceed danger levels.

As of 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, the water level at Hongze Lake, located at the lower reaches of the flooding Huaihe River, has reached 14.14 m, 0.64 m higher than the danger level and 0.06 m higher than the highest level of 1991, when Huaihe River also experienced huge floods.

Zhang Zhitong, vice-director of the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said another flood diversion area has been prepared, which will be used to contain floodwater discharged from Hongze Lake.

Meanwhile, the 163.5 km-long waterway from Honghu Lake to the Bohai Sea will discharge more water to ease the flood pressure in the lake.

The China Central Meteorological Station on Wednesday issued a storm warning for the Huaihe River and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The warning, in effect from Wednesday noon to Thursday noon, has been issued in view of the torrential rains and strong winds forecast for the valleys.

The affected areas include the northern part of Hunan Province,the southern and eastern parts of Hubei Province, the southeast ofHenan Province in central China, and most areas of Anhui and Jiangsu provinces in the east.

From Tuesday to Wednesday, floods hit Wujiang River, a major branch at the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake,an important water buffer at the middle reaches of the Yangtze.

As of 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, the water level of the flood crest at Wujiang River rose to 194.24 m, 2.24 m higher than the warning mark and the water level at Shimen hydraulic station on Dongting Lake reached 59.97 m, 1.97 m higher than the warning mark.

Zhang Zhitong warned that as the country has entered its annual flood season, vigilance should be enhanced on the flood situation in the middle and lower reaches of the flood-prone Yangtze River.

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