More than five million people in the east Chinese city of Nanjing awaited a flood crest on the Yangtze River Thursday as it moved inexorably downstream, testing flood preparations to their limits.
The 37 kilometers (23 miles) of dykes protecting the ancient city are widely touted as capable of withstanding even "hundred-year" floods, but officials warned against complacency as the most powerful surge in four years loomed.
"Every disaster is ultimately caused by a lax attitude," city Mayor Luo Zhijun told the Nanjing Morning Post. "Every district and county along the river must be at heightened alert and pay particular attention to weak spots in the dykes."
The level in the Yangtze near Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, rose marginally during Wednesday to more than 50 centimeters (20 inches) above the warning levels.
Farmers nearby had organized teams to maintain round-the-clock inspection of dykes protecting their fields, local papers said Thursday.
In the Nanjing harbor district, where a five-meter (16.5-foot) dyke keeps the Yangtze from inundating government buildings, military camps and factories, gates were plugged by sandbags and low walls of wood and clay.
"We don't need more protection than this for the time being," said a port official at the No. 4 dock, pointing to the low barrier he had helped build at one of the gates.
"If the water level in the river rises, we can also add more."
In the Zhongshan dock area, trees along the riverfront were standing in several feet of brown water and many people had to go to work along hastily erected gangways.
Nanjing is one of the final main danger spots to be negotiated before the Yangtze's flood surge, caused by weeks of heavy summer rain along its course, hits the East China Sea.
Upstream, while officials are still urging vigilance lest waterlogged defenses burst, dozens of towns and cities are breathing sighs of relief that dangerously high water levels have failed thus far to bring a repeat of 1998's appalling damage.
Then, more than 4,000 people died nationwide as a series of dykes gave way on the river, leaving millions homeless.
Since then a vast river defense reinforcement project has been undertaken, costing almost 5 billion dollars according to figures released by the official Xinhua news agency Thursday.
This year around 1,200 people have died in summer flooding, but many perished during flash floods and landslides which hit other regions usually unaffected by such disasters.
Despite their public relief that river defenses have held up, officials are warning that the Yangtze flood crest could rise as it moves through Jiangsu province in the coming days, and heavy rainfall combines with the effects of Typhoon Rusa, set to skim China's eastern coast.
Upstream from Nanjing, in the city of Jiujiang in Jiangxi province, the crest had passed, state media said Thursday.
As of late the previous day, water levels near the city had fallen three centimeters below this year's peak, according to the China News Service.
The situation at Jiujiang had received particular attention, because the city lies directly north of Poyang Lake, a key buffer for the Yangtze.
In the area around Dongting Lake, another catchment for the river and a focus of concern last week when the crest passed, water levels continued to recede.
In Chenglingji port, at the confluence of Dongting with the Yangtze, the water level fell 35 centimeters (14 inches) Wednesday and could slip below the warning level early next week, the China News Service said.
(China Daily August 29, 2002)
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