In China's Shaanxi Province around 1,500 people are
working flat out to repair a Yellow River flood control embankment
that collapsed and flooded several hundred hectares of cropland,
local sources said Wednesday. The flood destroyed at least 200
hectares of cropland and another 2,000 remain threatened, sources
said.
Shi Junhong, a farmer of Lianjian Village in the flood-hit area,
told Xinhua that all 8 hectares of his cotton was flooded with only
half of it harvested resulting in projected losses of 72,000 yuan
(US$9,000).
The 2-km-long embankment, which narrows the watercourse of the
Yellow River, collapsed at 4:10 PM on Tuesday after
floodwater swept downstream in Dali County, said the county's flood
prevention and drought control headquarters.
Around 400 farmers who were harvesting cotton and corn in the
area evacuated to safety when the embankment collapsed. No
casualties have been reported but over 600 hectares of cropland
have been affected.
The collapsed section, originally 50 meters wide, has been
narrowed down to a width of 20 meters thanks to the efforts of
local leaders and residents, according to the control headquarters.
About 160 trucks and other vehicles were transporting rock to
support the collapsed section and it would take two more days to
completely close the breach, they said.?
Upstream flood water gathered last Friday and came sweeping down
the river at 3,710 cubic meters per second. This caused the
embankment to collapse. The river flow has now slowed to 600 cubic
meters per second near the area of the incident.
(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2006)
