Society

China to divert flood on swollen branch of Yangtze River

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-28 10:13

WUHAN - Workers are on standby Wednesday to open flood gates on the swollen Han River, the largest branch of the Yangtze River in Central China's Hubei province, to prevent the flooding of provincial capital Wuhan.

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About 5,000 residents near an emergency reservoir in Xiantao City, near Wuhan, were evacuated overnight.

A flood peak is expected to arrive at Xiantao Thursday afternoon and raise the Han River's water level to 35.9 meters -- over the danger level of a nearby dike that guards Hanchuan City and one step closer to Wuhan.

Wuhan is a megacity with a population of about 9.1 million.