Emergency Situation: Breach in Dike at Dongting Lake in China
On July 5th at around 4pm, a dangerous situation occurred at the dike line 19+800 in Tuanzhouyuan, Dongting Lake, Huarong County, Yueyang City. By 17:48, after the emergency blockage failed, the dike collapsed, with initial surveys estimating the breach to be about 10 meters wide.
Currently, 5,000 residents from 6 villages and 1 community in the vicinity have been evacuated.
According to a report from the People’s Daily, Hunan Channel, at 7 pm, the width of the breach has extended to approximately 100 meters.
A “pipe burst” is a common danger in dike engineering, also known as seepage erosion or sediment flow. It refers to the combined risks of “sediment flow” and “seepage erosion” happening on the landward side of the dike during the flood season. In Hunan, this kind of situation is usually referred to as “sand turning into water”.