The flood-prone Huaihe River saw its fifth crest this year as
heavy rains continued along the upper reaches of the river,
officials said Monday.
The water level between Wangjiaba and Runheji is expected to
reach 27.6 meters by 2 p.m. Tuesday, 1.1 meters higher than the
warning level, said Anhui
provincial flood control headquarters.
A headquarters' spokesman said the high water level threatened
most of the dykes in the diversion areas, which were blown up in
the summer to ease pressure on the lower reaches.
He said the headquarters had already sent three special teams of
flood control experts to key and major areas to supervise and guide
flood control work.
All flood control offices at city and county levels had been
ordered to closely monitor water levels and a 24-hour report
mechanism had been established, he said.
Official figures show the heavy floods along the Huaihe River
this summer claimed at least 16 lives and caused 18.17 billion yuan
(US$2.2 billion) in direct economic losses in Anhui, Jiangsu and
Henan provinces.
Earlier this month, the Chinese government announced an
investment of 38 billion yuan (US$4.6 billion) in flood control
projects along the Huaihe River in the next five years to better
contain the flood-prone river.
(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2003)