The dike of Jingshan Lake on the Huaihe River was blown up at the zero hour Monday so that the flood crest could pass the city of Bengbu, an industrial base and traffic hub in east China's Anhui Province without any mishap.
Statistics from the Huaihe River Flood Control Headquarters show that the water level at Huainan Floodwater Control Station of the Jingshan Lake had reached 24.38 meters by 21:00 hours Sunday, 0.35 meters higher than its past record or 1.23 meters higher than its prescribed alert level.
To secure the embankment to the north of the Huaihe River where the mining and industrial enterprises of Bengbu are located, the flood control headquarters has made their seventh dyke blasted on the Huaihe river to release floodwater.
Earlier, Mengwa, Shangliufangdi, Xialiufangdi, Luohewa, Shiyao Section and Tangduo Lake have been blown up to help reduce the water level.
Luo Zewang, deputy general engineer with the Huaihe River Water Resources Committee under the Ministry of Water Resources, noted that the 22 flood diversion areas along the flooding Huaihe River could all possibly be put to use if the flood situation continues to worsen.
According to Luo, evacuation work in four of the 15 remaining flood diversion areas has been completed and that of the rest is still under way.
(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2003)
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