The Huaihe River valley encountered a great flood this July,
forcing river-harnessing work to get under way quickly.
The Huaihe River Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water
Resource recently issued a timetable for fighting flooding
along the river valley. By the end of 2007, flood and water-logging
prevention, and disaster reduction systems, adapting to the
economic and social development along the river valley, will be
complete. By 2008, local residents should be extricated from
suffering regular flooding.
According to Qian Min, director of the Huaihe River Water
Resources Commission, although it has been 50 years since China
took action on fighting Huaihe River flooding problems, embankment
standards are still at a low level and flood-prevention systems
need to be improved.
In accordance with the instructions of central government,
harnessing of the Huaihe River has a great deal to do with the
development and stability of the country, and the commission has
set three major tasks for harnessing the river and issued a
timetable of its details.
· Taking three years to resettle 1.2 million residents living in
the flood path, flood storage areas and flood land along the Huaihe
River and promoting reconstruction after flooding. Before the
winter season sets in this year, resettling 400,000 residents whose
houses have tumbled down in the flood; ensuring all victims have
houses to live in; re-strengthening embankments in flood path
areas; completing building projects for both storage and receding
floodwaters before the rain season of 2004 sets in; completing
parts of the facilities construction of draining water-logged
fields and parts of risk-area elimination projects in places
vulnerable to flooding.
· Taking five years to complete 19 backbone projects, and making
full use of the projects in flood control and disaster mitigation
by the end of 2007.
· Taking five years to improve flood and water logging
prevention systems. According to the problems exposed in this
year’s flooding, calamities caused by water logging were bigger
than those caused by floodwater along the Huaihe River valley. The
Huaihe River Water Resources Commission plans to fundamentally
complete the restructuring and improving of flood paths and flood
storage areas along the mainstream of the river to the east of
Bengbu by the end of 2007. This will include strengthening water
ways to the Yangtze River, diverting water of the Huaihe River to
the Yihe River, and enhancing the draining capacity of water-logged
fields, particularly in plain low-lying areas.
Qian Min said the flood control standards of the Huaihe River
would rise greatly if the three major tasks could be completed
smoothly in five years according to the plan. When full use is made
of the Linhuaigang water-conservation work in flood paths and
storage areas, flood control standards on the middle and lower
reaches of the Huaihe River’s mainstream will witness an
unprecedented high level. The capacity of draining water-logged
fields in parts of the low-lying areas along the river will also be
significantly enhanced.
(China.org.cn translated by Zhang Tingting, September 4,
2003)