Rain-swollen lake threatens six cities
The water level of a rain-swollen lake in central China today climbed far past the danger mark, increasing pressure on dikes that were keeping flood waters from swamping six cities and dozens of villages.
Although skies were sunny and clear, Dongting Lake in Hunan province was rising by half an inch per hour, said an official in Hunan’s anti-flood headquarters.
The water level was around six feet above the danger mark as flooded rivers flowed into the lake, said the official.
More than one million workers and soldiers have raced to shore up the elaborate system of dikes at the lake’s edge during the past week. Residents were examining the embankments for cracks or leaks that could lead to a devastating breach.
Despite the threat, life seemed normal in Yueyang, a lakeside city of 600,000. Most of the city was dry, but water stood doorknob-high in a few homes along the waterfront.
Outside the city’s supermarket, just a minute walk from the lake, people were singing karaoke. Vendors along the waterfront were chopping vegetables, stir-frying meals and doing a bustling business with crowds that seemed oblivious to the flood threat. The pier was full of boats selling fresh fish.
“It’s business as usual,” said France Hurtubise, a Beijing-based regional spokeswoman for the International Federation of the Red Cross who was touring the region.
Many residents have said they were unconcerned about the rising water because flooding is a common event on the 1,560 square mile lake, which is bigger than Luxembourg and has 580 miles of dikes at its perimeter.
Other parts of China have suffered flooding since the rainy season began in June, and nearly 1,000 people have been reported killed by high waters and landslides. More than 200 of those deaths were reported in Hunan.
