Editorial | Better preparations can help China ride out flooding storm
- Millions hope joint efforts by central and local governments will strengthen emergency responses in the face of deadly deluge
Harrowing scenes of water from a rain-swollen lake in central China pouring through a breach in a dyke protecting low-lying areas serve to illustrate the devastation being wrought by this year’s flooding season. More is yet to come.
The only option for local authorities in the destructive path of floods is to bolster their emergency preparation and responses.
This rainy season arrived stronger and earlier in the year than usual, feeding floodwaters that have swept across the country, killing scores of people and displacing thousands. Last week, Premier Li Qiang toured areas of central Jiangxi province, observing flood control efforts and urging local officials to prepare early.
The drama shifted to the west of Jiangxi at the weekend to the neighbouring province of Hunan, where Dongting Lake, the country’s second largest freshwater body, burst through an embankment, flooding a 47 sq km (18 sq mi) area on Friday. The breach was 10 metres wide but expanded to 226 metres on Saturday.
Emergency workers scrambled to rebuild the levee with tonnes of stone, gravel and other materials, sealing the gap on Monday night.
