Recently, a mobile flood prevention dam was invented by Wuhan City Flood Control Survey and Design Institute (CFCSDI) in central China's Hubei province. Now, 218 meters of the dam are being set up on a riverside road in Wuhan for demonstration.

The dam consists of a number of flood prevention boards connected by 87 pillars, each with a diameter of 2.5 meters. The board is about as high as a standing person, and all the joints are sealed with strips of the same substance that is applied to submarines. The pillars and boards are made of lightweight aluminium alloys for quick installation and release. The weight of a single board is less than 40 kilograms, and a regular dam can be installed in just half an hour by two skilled workers.

"We are currently testing the product, and it is able to resist most normal storms with its 6-centimeter-thick boards," said Meng Jianjun, vice president of CFCSDI.

Used for the first time in a Wuhan flood earlier this year, the dam was able to prevent infiltration by a wall of water 1 meter high. Its infiltration prevention system is even stricter than those of foreign models. In addition, the China-made dam is cheaper than those produced in foreign countries, and the cost of maintenance is much lower.