Travel along a key river artery is becoming increasingly hazardous
as huge chunks of ice threaten to bring shipping to a standstill.
Tens of thousands of people are on alert for possible flooding that
may be caused by piled-up ice blocks in river courses.
Plunging temperatures have led to the build-up of ice along 111.39
kilometers in 33 sections of the Yellow River in east China's
Shandong Province.
Statistics from the Shandong Yellow River Anti-Flood Office show
ice blocks to be floating along the whole section of the river.
They are present at the river estuary in Heze in the eastern part
of the province with the average ice density reaching 50
percent.
At
Dongying -- the lowest reach of the river -- the ice density
reached 70 percent on Thursday. Most ice blocks were between 1 to
10 square meters, with the biggest one recorded as 100 square
meters.
Most ice blocks are 2 to 8 centimeters thick, with the thickest
estimated to be 10 centimeters.
"The continuous cold weather will thicken the ice layer and close
more sections, but everything is safe as far as we know," said
Wang.
The official said an ice flood is unlikely, reducing the chances of
a repeat of 1951 and 1955 when the river was effectively
sealed.
The province has mobilized more than 450,000 people to tackle
possible ice flooding.
They have checked and repaired all of defenses and facilities, as
well as receiving training to combat ice floods.
Explosives have also been prepared in case ice-breaking becomes
necessary.
The Yellow River -- China's second largest river -- starts in
Qinghai Province. It then flows through Gansu, Ningxia, Inner
Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan, before passing through
Shandong and entering the Bohai Sea.
The river passes through six cities in Shandong -- Liaocheng,
Dezhou, Jinan, Binzhou, Zibo and Dongying. These are the major
cities that must fight against potential ice floods every year.
The river did not ice up in the past two years. Colder weather this
year and slower river flow has led to more ice flow and icing up,
said Wang Yixue, an official with the Shandong Yellow River
Anti-Flood Office.
Weather forecasts were for a further decline in temperatures to 14
degrees Celsius below zero last night in Jinan, capital city of
Shandong.
Shandong has this year experienced the most serious drought in the
past 100 years.
With little rainfall and more water being drawn from reaches of the
Yellow River, the decreased flow of water has increased the
formation of ice blocks and closed the river.
By
8 am Thursday, water flow at the lower Huayuankou Station in
Zhengzhou, Henan Province, was merely 198 cubic meters per second,
compared to the more than 400 for the same period last year.
(China Daily December 27, 2002)