BEIJING: Tianjin has relocated more than 80,000 residents from flood-prone areas, as a large volume of upstream water flows toward the city, posing a major challenge to authorities to prevent damage. Located by the Bohai Sea, Tianjin covers the estuaries of three major rivers in North China’s Haihe River Basin, including the Daqing, Yongding and Ziyaxin.
Unprecedented heavy rainfall since the end of last month has sent floodwaters moving toward Tianjin after the torrents passed through upstream regions last week, including some cities in neighboring Hebei province. Flooding red alerts have already been issued.
Tianjin has taken multiple measures to prepare for the floodwaters, including reinforcing riverside dikes, dredging waterways and relocating large swathes of residents. The majority of relocations are from Xiqing and Jinghai districts, which are covered by the Dongdian water detention area. The low-lying area, which helps divert and retard floodwaters, was put into use on Aug 1. The area covers 379 square kilometers, with 100 sq km in the two districts of Tianjin. The remainder of the detention area is in Hebei.
According to a notice from Jinghai district’s flood prevention authority, all the residents in Taitou, Duliu and Wangkou townships were relocated before Thursday.
More than 30,000 people from 23 villages have been relocated, according to ThePaper.cn. Residents of two other districts, Wuqing and Beichen, were earlier relocated, as they were also in flood-prone areas.
After residents were moved to safe areas, rescue teams started patrolling villages and riverbanks to prevent people from returning to their homes. The dikes of rivers in the city were also strengthened and raised to reduce the threat of rising floodwaters, the report said.
The head of the floodwaters entered Tianjin on Friday and it would take two or three days for the water level to peak, Yang Bang, an official with the hydrographic office of the Haihe River Water Conservancy Commission, told ThePaper.cn. –The Daily Mail-China Daily exchange item
