Repairs to a breached dike in Central China's Hunan Province that forced thousands of local residents to leave their homes are expected to be completed by Tuesday noon, according to government authorities. Tuanzhou dike alongside the Dongting Lake, China's second-biggest freshwater lake, burst and unleashed floodwater brought by torrential rain following failed emergency repair efforts on Friday afternoon.
The dike breach that occurred on Friday was initially about 10 meters wide, but drastically increased overnight, widening to 226 meters by Saturday evening.
Rescue forces dispatched to the dike located in Huarong county, Yueyang city, Hunan, started to repair the breach on Saturday afternoon. As of Sunday evening, the gap had been narrowed by 101.6 meters. As of the press time, repair work is still underway.
Zhang Yingchun, executive vice governor of Hunan Province, said during a press briefing on Sunday afternoon that it was expected the repair work would be completed by noon on Tuesday.
