英语新闻丨Dike breach in Hunan to be plugged soon

The dike breach along Dongting Lake in a township in Hunan province is expected to be sealed off by noon on Tuesday, according to local authorities.

据湖南省人民政府称，岳阳市华容县团洲垸洞庭湖一线堤防预计将在7月9日12时前完成封堵。

As of 3 pm on Sunday, a gap of 87.3 meters had been plugged, with first responders continuing to make efforts to repair the 220-meter breach in the dike in Tuanzhou township of Huarong county in the city of Yueyang, local authorities said at a news conference.

湖南省人民政府召开的岳阳团洲垸险情处置新闻发布会通报，截至7日15时，决口戗堤已封堵87.3米，各部门工作组将继续努力封堵剩余220米决口。

After the breach occurred at around 5:48 pm on Friday, President Xi Jinping urged all-out rescue and relief efforts to safeguard people's lives and property. He instructed that people in threatened areas be evacuated in a timely manner and properly resettled.

5日17时48分左右，习近平对湖南岳阳市华容县团洲垸洞庭湖一线堤防发生决口作出重要指示，要求全力开展抢险救援工作，切实保护好人民群众生命财产安全。

A similar breach had taken place in the township in July 1996.

Efforts to plug the dike breach started on Saturday afternoon, after the water level in the lake went down.

团洲垸曾在1996年7月洪水中溃垸过。

6日下午, 待洞庭湖水位水位下降后，各工作组开始封堵堤坝决口。

Zhang Yingchun, executive deputy governor of Hunan province, said that emergency responders were racing against time to seal off the breach.

湖南省委常委、常务副省长张迎春表示，应急救援人员正在争分夺秒封堵决口。

With trucks and barges bringing rocks and raw materials, they can proceed to rebuild 60 to 80 meters of the dike each day. A total of 100,000 cubic meters of rock is needed to plug the whole gap, she said.

通过卡车和船舶运送岩石和块石，按照每天60米到80米的速度推进，封堵决口需要调度10万方块石。

More than 4,200 emergency responders and over 3,000 pieces of equipment are assisting in the relief and rescue efforts, she added.

4200余人及3000多台套设备在现场进行应急处置。

The central government has allocated 258 million yuan ($35.5 million) and the provincial government 250 million yuan for emergency flood response in Hunan, Zhang said.

中央政府为此次湖南的紧急救灾拨款2.58亿元人民币，湖南省政府拨款2.5亿元人民币。

The embankment, viewed as "the second line of defense", is located about 2 kilometers from the breached dike and is 14.3 kilometers long, according to Xinhua News Agency.

据新华网报道，团洲垸作为“第二道防线”，全长14.3千米，距离堤坝决口仅2千米。

An area of 47.64 square kilometers, which is about 92 percent of the township's total area, is underwater, with the average depth of water being 5 meters, according to local newspaper Hunan Daily.

据《湖南日报》报道，此次决堤淹没面积47.64平方公里，约占团洲垸总面积的92.5%，平均水深为5米。

The Ministry of Water Resources has sent an expert team to offer technical support to local teams.

水利厅已派出专家小组为当地团队提供技术支持。

Li Heng, leader of the expert team, said the most important work is to reinforce the embankment, which separates the flooded township from other areas. All 7,680 residents of the township have been evacuated and resettled, and there were no immediate reports of casualties or injuries, she said.

专家组组长李恒表示，最重要的工作是加固堤防，将淹没区域与其他地区隔开。团洲垸总计7680名居民都已被疏散和安置，目前暂未发布人员伤亡的报道。

Zhu Dongtie, head of Hunan's Department of Water Resources, said they need to drain about 200 million cubic meters of water and plan to use pumping equipment as soon as the breach is repaired.

湖南省水利厅厅长朱东铁称，此次堤防需要排出约2亿立方米的水，计划在封堵决口后立即使用抽水设备。

A total of 3,224 residents have been resettled at four schools in Huarong county.

总计有3224名居民在华容县的四所学校得到安置。

Xiao Juxiang, 68, said she and her husband left their home after hearing an evacuation announcement on the village radio.

68岁的肖菊香说，到广播撤离的消息，她和丈夫赶紧离开住所。

"The atmosphere was very intense and I was very nervous," she said, emphasizing that she felt reassured after seeing People's Armed Police Force personnel join the rescue efforts.

“气氛真的很紧张，我很害怕。”回忆起当时情形，肖菊香心里五味杂陈，直到武警的出现，“看到他们的身影，我仿佛吃下一颗‘定心丸’。”

The troops transferred all villagers to safe locations and gave them water and food, Xiao said, adding, "You could see how tired they were. It is no mean task to evacuate so many people."

随后武警将乡亲们运送至安全的场所，拿来了矿泉水、八宝粥等物资，紧接着赶赴下一个任务。“我能从他们的脸上看出疲惫，真的太不容易了。”

The Ministry of Water Resources

n.水利厅