Jiangsu cities along the Taihue Lake join hands to battles serious flood

After ten rounds of strong rainfall since the rainy season, the water level in Taihu Lake, the country’s second-largest freshwater lake, has kept rising, reaching 4.71 meters deep on average by 10:00 pm on July 19 and marking the 21st day straight above the alarm level.

Flood control staff in Wuxi work to strengthen the Taihu Lake Dam, Jun. 16. [CFP]

To ensure the flood control response in a coordinated manner, Jiangsu has improved contact and cooperation among regions in the upstream and downstream

Suzhou and Wuxi have made comprehensive preparation as they are facing the bigger challenge in flood control. Suzhou has organized 1,217 task forces involving 23,000 people to stay alert to the flood. Wuxi also mobilized 22,000 people in 994 teams and got more flood control materials ready for quick response.

Thanks to cooperation among cities, Suzhou was able to discharge 1.6 billion cubic meters of excess water through effective flood diversion in proper timing, about four times of the amount in normal years.

Chen Xiqing, director of the Suzhou Office of Flood and Drought Control, the rainfall in the Taihu Lake area is even greater compared to in 2016, but water levels in rivers and lakes are not higher and cities are not significantly waterlogged, and this progress really shows the impact of the integrated management across the area.

Water level in Taihu Lake, canal and Yangtze River is estimated to rise further. To make comprehensive response, Suzhou has officially issued plans to evacuate people from the low-lying areas around Taihu Lake, Shuangshan Island in Zhangjiagang, and depleted houses in Gusu District.