Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has visited flood-affected areas in
Anhui Province. During the tour of the region Saturday, Wen Jiabao
asked officials to ensure the safety and livelihood of people
affected by the Huaihe floods. Wen got a first-hand look at the
situation at the Wangjiaba sluice gates, one of the most important
flood control barriers on the river.
Premier Wen Jiabao is the highest-ranking Chinese government
official to visit the region since torrential rain inundated the
Huaihe River nearly two weeks ago.
The gates are one of the river's key water control mechanisms. They
link the waterway's upper and middle reaches and stretch across two
provinces.
The gates were raised for the second time within a week early on
Friday to ease pressure from dangerously high water levels.
For nearly two days, a torrent of more than 13 hundred cubic meters
has poured into the Mengwa storage area each second. That's brought
water levels down at the rate of a centimeter an hour.
The efforts of local residents have not gone unnoticed. The premier
expressed his high regard for the affected workers and thanked them
for shoring up the main dykes along the river.
The premier assured the sufferers that their safety and livelihood
would be guaranteed. He urged local officials to do everything
possible to ensure the safety, health and property of those
affected.
Almost half of the Mengwa area's storage capacity has been used,
inundating 12 thousand hectares of land. Twenty thousand people
have been displaced and been forced to find shelter in camps.
(CCTV July 13, 2003)