Affected by repeated rains and upstream flood discharges, the water levels in the surrounding sections of Xinyi River and Hongze Lake in Jiangsu Province are still above the warning line. Since Wednesday, the province has been battered by more rainfall due to the influence of the Typhoon Soulik which is expected to bring gale to east China.
Shuyang County launched a three-level emergency response to flood control by arranging a total of 7201 people from 14 townships to conduct inspections on the embankment and repair the flood control levees.
The Lianshui County Maritime Department implemented "orderly control" on the Lianshui section of the Yanhe Watercourse by guiding the safe anchoring of the ship in the navigation.
Authorities in Xiangshui County took the trouble to set up a rescue team composed of party members, volunteers, and basic militia to carry out emergency resettlement of the dangerous areas according to plan.
Authorities in Xuzhou arranged for rescue workers to pump out at multiple construction sites, dredging rivers and repairing equipment damaged by typhoon in the early stage. Most of the construction sites have resumed normal construction.
Floodgates across the province have been opened to discharge the flood. The city of Lianyungang has launched level IV emergency response by discharging 4000 and 4080 cubic meters of flood per second in the Xinyu River and Xinshu River. The flood discharge level in Xinshu River reached a historic high since 1974.
In the process of flood discharge in Xinshu River, a fishing boat measuring about 28 meters long and weighing more than 60 tons was hit by a cable break and hit the Taipingzhuang flood gate.
The torrential water flow made it more difficult for the rescuers to reach out to the two people trapped aboard. The firefighters used the drones to air-drop life jackets to the trapped people. In the meantime, they deployed motorboats and the speed boats to approach the ship in distress. Finally the two trapped persons were evacuated to place of safety.
Since last Saturday, Xuzhou has discharged more than 100 million cubic meters of flood. The amount of flood discharged through Zhengji Floodgate is equivalent to the total water of 13 Yunlong Lake.
Yangzhou Wanfu Floodgate discharged nearly 600 million cubic meters of flood in three days with 4 billion cubic meters of flood to be discharged further.
China's national observatory said Wednesday that typhoon Soulik, the country's 19th this year, will bring strong winds to the east coast through Thursday.
The center of the strong typhoon was over the northeast of the East China Sea at 5 a.m., packing winds up to 48 meters per second, the National Meteorological Center or NMC said, adding that Soulik will move northwestward at a speed of about 20 km per hour with weakening force.
Until Thursday morning, the typhoon will bring gales to the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, as well as some areas of the East China Sea, the NMC said.
On Wednesday morning, the center renewed a blue alert for Soulik, the lowest level in a four-tier color-coded warning system.
The NMC suggested local governments take precautions against possible disasters, and ships in affected areas return to ports.
