A collapsed flood control embankment on the Yellow River in northwest China's Shaanxi Province will not result in large-scale flooding, officials have stated. 

 

Workers continued to rebuild and reinforce the collapsed section with rock yesterday evening and the breach was expected to be completely closed today, said the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

 

Chen Wenjun, vice director of the headquarters, said an increasing area of croplands in lower areas was affected by water. But he ruled out the possibility of a large-scale flooding because "the whole situation is already under control."

 

The two-kilometer embankment section, which narrows the watercourse of the Yellow River, collapsed at 4:10 PM on Tuesday after a torrent of floodwater came downstream in Dali County, said the headquarters.

 

They explained the incident was caused by a "flood peak" forming last Friday upstream, which came sweeping downriver at 3,710 cubic meters per second.

 

Around 400 farmers harvesting cotton and corn in the area were evacuated after the incident but no casualties were reported. More than 600 hectares of croplands were flooded, sources said.

 

 

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2006)