China explodes dam to free flood waters
| Date :20-Jul-2020 |
By K J M Varma :
BEIJING,
CHINA blasted a dam over a river in Anhui province on Sunday to discharge the surging flood waters as torrential rains and floods wreaked havoc in the country, killing over 100 people. The dam on the Chuhe river, a tributary of the mighty Yangtze River, was destroyed with explosives to ease the flood control pressure in the river basin, state-run CCTV reported.
Water levels on many rivers, including the Yangtze, have been unusually high this year because of torrential rains. The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze last week opened three floodgates as the water level behind the world’s biggest dam rose more than 15 metres above flood level.
Official media reported that over 140 people were killed or missing since June, 37.89 million have been affected and over 2.24 lakh people relocated as China faced “flood catastrophe” with 433 rivers were on spate.
