Central China Residents Fight Rising Waters

Some 250,000 people have been evacuated from the area surrounding Dongting Lake ahead of an expected flood surge Sunday. Flooding in the Hunan province has already destroyed 27,000 houses and damaged 67,000 more, China’s Civil Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

Floods and landslides resulting from this year’s heavy rainy season have claimed nearly 1,000 lives in China — 200 in the Hunan province alone.

Official Chinese press estimates say some 10 million people, mostly in nearby cities, would be at risk if the lake overflows its banks. Yueyang, located just beyond the Dongting, is home to over 800,000 people, while Wuhan, a city of more than seven million, is also at risk.

Flood control officials believe that a disaster may yet be avoided. They expect Dongting’s water level to reach 114 feet, 10 inches on Sunday morning, three feet below the levels of a 1998 deluge that killed some 4,000 people. After that flood, Chinese authorities imposed measures to avoid such devastating floods, including halting tree-cutting, vast reforestation campaigns and the reinforcement of embankments.

Workers charged with fighting the flood estimate that if those steps had not been taken, conditions at Dongting Lake would be much worse.

“If this was 1998, then the waters would definitely have broken the banks by now,” said flood-control worker Zhang Shuofu.

Rains have abated in the area since Wednesday, lifting hopes that volunteers might contain the flood surge.

Dongting Lake covers some 1,000 square miles, an area the size of Luxembourg. The lake acts as a natural overflow point for the Yangtze River, which has been prone to floods over the years.

Meanwhile, Chinese Red Cross officials have traveled to the area to distribute tents, food and other supplies to evacuees. However, early floods and evacuations that began as early as June have left Hunan’s emergency supplies low, prompting officials to ask for help from other regions.