The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters initiated a level-three emergency response in the wake of severe floods that have wracked central China over the last few days.

Persistent rains since Sept. 16 have swept the basins of the Han, Wei and Jialingjiang rivers, leading to floods in 14 rivers and tributaries of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, according to the headquarters.

Water levels at the Three Gorges Reservoir, the country's largest water reservoir, swelled to over 160 meters on the evening of Sept. 19, 16 meters higher than the alert level. The Danjiangkou Reservoir, a major reservoir that serves central China's Henan and Hubei provinces, saw its water levels rise to nearly 155 meters, two meters over the alert level. The flood control and prevention offices of the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Hubei have initiated emergency responses to deal with the situation.

Liu Ning, secretary-general of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarter and vice minister of Water Resources, chaired a meeting on Monday to work out a plan to deal with the flooding. He asked water conservancy officials from the Three Gorges, Danjiangkou and Sanmenxia reservoirs to help shoulder the burden of diverting water from flooded areas.

The headquarters has also dispatched working groups to the provinces of Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi to help coordinate flood relief efforts.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)