The fifth flood crest this year on the
Weihe River, the
largest tributary of the Yellow River mainly in Northwest China's
Shaanxi
Province, began to fall slowly yesterday as the water level
dropped?four centimeters over several hours, officials said.
Officials with the provincial flood-control and drought-relief
headquarters said that Weihe's water flow at the Huaxian
Hydrological Station fell to 2,710 cubic meters per second by 9 am
yesterday from the peak flow of 2,810 cubic meters per second at
6:30 am.
Although the water level has dropped, the water flow is expected
to remain above the warning level of 2,000 cubic meters per second
until tomorrow morning, one official said.
The fifth flood crest on the Weihe River was formed last Friday,
with a water flow of 2,660 cubic meters per second recorded at the
Lintong Hydrological Station. Around 130,000 people in Huaxian
County had to be evacuated.
About 50,000 people are patrolling dykes along the river 24
hours a day.
Since late August, the Weihe River has experienced its worst
flooding in 20 years. The flooding inundated over 200 square
kilometers of land. More than 300,000 people overall have been
evacuated.
The floods in Shaanxi have led to 123 people being reported
killed or missing.
The provincial government has allocated 27.7 million yuan
(US$3.3 million) to help flood victims rebuild their houses and
resume a normal life.
Inner dykes of the Yellow River along the Lankao County section
in Central China's Henan
Province have been affected by several breaches, with
floodwater surging downwards and posing an imminent threat to more
than 86,000 local people in the river's lower reaches in East
China's Shandong
Province.
Liu Xueshan, deputy head of Dongming County in Shandong, said
the Lankao dykes "are no longer able to keep back the flood water,
which is flowing over the river's inner dykes towards nearby shoal
areas on the lower reaches.''
Three breaches along the river -- one 200 meters long and two
others 100 meters long -- are gushing and spurting out water to
inundate plains in western Shandong, endangering the lives of over
86,000 locals in 127 villages and submerging 10,800 hectares of
cropland, he said.
The main riverway yesterday was discharging 2,500 cubic meters
of floodwater per second east towards the river's mouth.
As the only three roads to the outside have all been cut off by
the surging flood water, the affected areas are facing increasing
difficulties in evacuating most of the local residents, said Yuan
Min, director of the Disaster-Mitigation and Relief Office of the
Civil Affairs Bureau in the city of Heze, which includes Dongming
County.
He said that, of all those under siege, only 5,593 people have
been transferred -- mostly the elderly, the sick and disabled, and
children. Those who have relatives with whom they can stay have
been moved to nearby counties by boat. The remaining people are
staying on higher ground or terraces and even on rooftops.
According to Liu, the flood water has risen to as high as the
level of the Yellow River. The water level in the flooded plain has
reached up to 3.5 meters, he said.
"Seventeen flood-fighting teams are working around the clock on
the levees, and 56,000 people have been organized to help ship
local people and reinforce the high platforms,'' Liu added.
As part of its emergency relief effort, the Heze government has
given flood victims 405 temporary tents, 15 tons of wheat flour,
5,000 boxes of instant noodles, 8,000 bottles of mineral water,
2,000 cotton-padded quilts and items of clothing, 6,000 meters of
plastic sheeting and 10 tons of diesel oil.
(China Daily October 6, 2003)