The frozen sections of the Yellow River has expanded to more than
1,100 kilometers as temperatures remained very low in areas along
the river.
An official with the Yellow River Conservancy Committee (YRCC)
said the frozen sections have spread in the upper, middle and lower
reaches of the river, making the situation for preventing ice runs
grave.
River freezing can pose a hazard to the safety of embankments
along some narrow and winding sections, where a large amount of ice
often accumulates in cold weather.
The river section upstream of Qingtongxia water control facility
inside Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has been frozen since late
January under the impact of a sustained low temperature, which has
hovered around minus 20 or so degrees Celsius.
The water level has risen abruptly in the waterway in Zhongning
County as a large amount of ice has built up and clogged the
natural course of the water.
On Monday, in four places, water flowed over levees or flowed
through holes built in the embankments, inundating 1,340 hectares
of arable land or tidal zones.
Dozens of residents were forced to evacuate.
Flood control officials in Ningxia and Zhongning lost no time in
organizing manpower to solidify and raise the height of the levees
and plug holes in the dikes.
Weather forecasts predict the cold weather will stay for several
more days to come in the Yellow River Valley.
The Yellow River Conservancy Committee has told local
departments to step up patrols along the riverside, watch the
weather and ice flows closely so that efficient measures can be
adopted in case of new crises.
The Yellow River, the second longest in China, originates in
Qinghai Province, northwest China, flows through Gansu Province,
Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions, Shaanxi, Shanxi,
Henan and Shandong provinces before emptying into Bohai Sea.?
All About
Yellow River,
Cold weather
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2008)
