China's 2nd Largest Freshwater Lake Collapses Due to Heavy Rain... Breach Expands to 200m (Comprehensive)

Partial Collapse of Dungtingho Embankment
Xi Jinping Issues Urgent Order to Protect Residents' Lives During Tour

A section of the embankment of Dongting Lake (洞庭湖·Dongtingho), the second largest freshwater lake in China, has collapsed due to heavier-than-usual rainfall, with the length of the collapsed embankment exceeding 200 meters.

Restoration work on the collapsed Dongting Lake embankment [Image source= Xinhua News Agency·Yonhap News]

According to reports from Chinese state media including Xinhua News Agency on the 6th (local time), a part of the Dongting Lake embankment in Huarong County, Yueyang City, Hunan Province, which showed signs of leakage risk, burst around 5:48 PM the previous day. Initially, the length of the collapsed embankment was about 10 meters, but it increased to 150 meters around 11 PM the same day, and as of the afternoon of the 6th, it expanded to 220 meters. Consequently, all roads passing through Huarong County, home to about 500,000 people, were closed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is on a state visit to Tajikistan in Central Asia, upon hearing the news of the accident, instructed that utmost efforts be made to protect the lives and property of residents. President Xi emphasized, "Some areas have experienced heavy rainfall and prolonged periods of rain, making the situation serious," and added, "If the embankment is eroded by water for a long time, dangerous situations such as flooding are likely to occur."

Although the embankment collapsed, authorities safely evacuated 5,755 nearby residents, resulting in no casualties. Additionally, about 2,100 rescue workers and over 160 boats were mobilized for emergency repair work. More than 50,000 tons of sand and gravel, and 1,320 tons of rice were deployed. To prevent flooding, 18 vehicles were also sunk near the collapsed embankment.

The central government allocated an additional 540 million yuan (approximately 102.4 billion KRW) in relief funds for Hunan Province and other disaster-affected areas. Since the 16th of last month, Hunan Province has experienced the largest scale of heavy rain this year, with some areas recording the highest rainfall ever.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.