Wuhan Prepares for Flood SeasonWuhan, an important industrial city on the middle reaches of Yangtze River, has been making tense preparations for this year's flood season on the mighty river.According to local sources, Wuhan, the capital of central China 's Hubei Province, has rebuilt and repaired 16 major dangerous sections of the embankments on both sides of the Yangtze, and conducted carpet examinations over all reservoirs in the city so as to find and solve the hidden dangers in advance. It has also upgraded equipment at the city's 15 major pumping stations. In the meantime, the city has prepared plenty of equipment and material needed for combating possible flooding, including 245,000 cu m of sand and stone, 200,000 pieces of jute bags and 5,400 life vests and buoys. A local flood control official told Xinhua that they have prepared more flood control material this year than they did in 1998, when serious floods occurred on the Yangtze, causing serious economic damages. Though Wuhan had been hit by a major drought early this year, the average monthly water level in the Yangtze from January to April of this year was nevertheless higher than that in previous years. Meteorologists and hydrologists believe that this year's flood control task will not be lighter than before as more rainfall had been predicted in valleys and on the upper reaches of the Yangtze and Hanjiang River, a main tributary of Yangtze. Sources said that the first flood peak on the Yangtze has passed Jianli, a major hydrological station on Yangtze, and is expected to reach Wuhan this Saturday. By 14:00 hours yesterday, the water level of the main stream of the Yangtze monitored at the Wuhan Tower was 24.97 meters and by Saturday when the first flood crest is passing, the water level may climb to 25.65 meters. |
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