Floods continue to devastate Hunan, with the breach of the Dongting Lake on July 5 still remaining unsealed. On July 6, leakage was detected at the Dam of JiuFeng Reservoir in Pingjiang County, and if the situation continues to worsen, it could potentially affect around 21,000 downstream residents.
Around 7:10 a.m. on July 6, the Hunan Provincial Department of Water Resources notified that the dam of JiuFeng Reservoir was leaking, with water seepage occurring at the foot of the drainage entity, and turbid water was found seeping out from the culvert.
The collapse hazard zone at that location was discovered around 11:00 a.m. on July 5, with significant seepage at the foot of the original drainage entity of the dam. Upon excavation, an abandoned old culvert with a diameter of 300 millimeters was found below the dam, from which turbid water was flowing out.
Experts on-site observed turbid water seepage at an elevation of 98.0 meters on the dam (reservoir water level at 125.30 meters), with the water appearing yellowish, cold, and containing sand and gravel. Preliminary analysis indicated that the main source of leakage hazard was the seepage from the original collapse hazard zone on the left slope of the dam flowing to the original bottom culvert, showing an escalating trend of the hazard. If the situation continues to worsen, it could impact approximately 21,000 downstream residents.
However, experts at the site stated that with the reservoir water level dropping to 125 meters, it was preliminarily judged that the hazard would not escalate, and there is currently no preparation for large-scale population evacuation.