China Blasts Open Embankment, Releases Floodwater

OVER 10-THOUSAND PEOPLE IN A SMALL TOWN IN SOUTHERN CHINA ARE TRAPPED DUE TO FLOODING. LOCAL AUTHORITIES TOOK EXTREME MEASURES TO TACKLE THE FLOOD WATER, LIKE BLASTING OPEN AN EMBANKMENT. NTD’S JULIET SONG HAS THE STORY. [VO] China’s Southeastern Anhui province is now in an urgent situation. In one of the towns in the region, over 10-thousand people are trapped due to flooding, waiting to be rescued. [SOT] 0023 没有东西吃，现在停水停电，什么都没有 We don’t have any food here, now there’s neither water nor electricity, nothing. [VO] The flooding has devastated some local businesses. [SOT] 0327 你像我们这的厂，我们这边都是羽绒为生意的，有的厂里边的羽绒全部被水冲走了。 Many of the local factories make a living producing down products. In some factories, the flood water washed away all the down they have. [VO] Authorities say most of those trapped by the flooding are children and the elderly. Mr. Yu, who works in Shanghai, was rushing home, trying to help evacuate his 8 family members, who were trapped on the second floor of their home. [SOT] 0444 （水）到了一楼 The water has flooded the first floor of the house. [VO] On Saturday, local authorities raised the flooding warning alert to its highest level. 18日起，安徽全省已進入「洪災一級警戒」 Heavy rain and massive flooding from upstream caused water levels in Anhui to quickly rise. On Sunday, a major river in the region saw its water level nearing a historic high. At 3 am, Chinese authorities took extreme measures and blew open an embankment on the river. The flood water then flew into two buffer areas. State media said the move is expected to reduce the water level by almost 30 inches. They said people living in the buffer areas have been evacuated, but didn’t specify the numbers. Chinese authorities used the same tactic during China’s worst flooding in recent decades, in 19-98. On Monday, after another major river saw its water going above its highest warning level, authorities ordered another dam on the river to discharge the floodwater. Water spilled into another buffer area, with a population of almost 200-thousand people. Authorities say over 2-thousand have been evacuated. On China’s popular social media site Weibo, the flooding is getting little attention. Trending keywords are celebrity news, popular dramas and virus vaccine achievements.