Ice run was spotted at the outlet of the Yellow River on Monday,
about half a month later than usual, according to local
officials.
The Yellow River Shandong Bureau, noting that the ice run was
just beginning to appear, didn't disclose how long of the river was
affected.
Ice formations at the lower reaches of the Yellow River usually
persist from December to February.
Severe ice run would cause removal of float bridges across the
river in the region, said local sources.
A 184-kilometer ice run was sighted on Friday in the upper
section of the Yellow Rive in an area flowing through the
northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Sections of the Yellow River freeze and thaw at different times.
When an ice run flows to a frozen section, it can be blocked. If
the blockage persists, water levels may rise and cause floods and
dam bursts, threatening lives and property.
Flood control authorities along the 5,464-km Yellow River are
conducting round-the-clock surveillance against a possible ice
flood of the river.
The Yellow River, second longest in China, originates in Qinghai
Province in the northwest and flows through Gansu, Ningxia, Inner
Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan, before emptying from Shandong
into the Bohai Sea.
(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2008)
