A day after China declared victory over a dangerous “quake lake,” waters receded further yesterday, state press said, but authorities warned the danger period was not over because of predicted heavy rains.
“More than half of the 250 million cubic meter volume has been discharged and the number of people under threat had dropped from 1.3 million to less than 50,000,” Xinhua news agency cited Sichuan Communist Party chief Liu Qibao (劉奇葆) as saying.
The Tangjiashan lake was created when landslides blocked a river in a particularly remote and mountainous area of Sichuan during the May 12 earthquake.
Water levels in at least five reservoirs in eastern Zhejiang Province had risen above warning levels, Xinhua news agency said, after days of rain devastated southern Guangdong Province and hit record levels in Hong Kong.
About 1,880 structures collapsed in Zhejiang and the southern Guangxi autonomous region.
In Zhejiang, the rain “affected” more than 930,000 people and damaged or destroyed more than 70,000 hectares of crops, halting production at 286 factories and forcing the closure of 115 roads, Xinhua quoted local officials as saying.
Meteorological authorities in Zhejiang said the region would face more heavy rain in two days.
Rainstorms brought havoc to Hong Kong on Saturday, with the heaviest downpour since records began and sparking widespread flooding and dozens of landslides, one of which killed two people.
The rain closed roads, including the airport highway, and hundreds of flights were delayed.
China on Tuesday declared victory over a “quake lake” as waters were released downstream, where hundreds of thousands had been under threat of flooding.
“There are still some 100 million cubic meters in the lake, which is subject to the threat of aftershocks, landslides and heavy rain,” said Chen Lei (陳雷), minister of water resources.
“Another major test for us is coming as the flood season approaches,” he was quoted as saying.
He said that in the best-case scenario, water from the Tangjiashan lake would be cleared before the flood season, and that ministry experts would fly to the lake area to conduct geological studies and assess the risks yesterday and today.
Also See: China’s post-quake nationalism
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