China to Start Draining Dam that Threatens City

Reuters reports:

Authorities in a remote western part of China hope to start draining as soon as Tuesday an overfilled, leaking reservoir which is threatening to burst and flood a nearby city, state media said on Monday.

The Wenquan reservoir in Qinghai province is holding over 230 million cubic meters of water when it was designed for a maximum of 70 million, the Xinhua news agency said.

If it bursts, the grimy garrison city of Golmud, around 130 km (80 miles) away and home to more than 200,000 people, could be flooded with water up to 4 meters deep in some areas.

More than 9,000 people in immediate danger have already been evacuated.

See also: “9,000 people evacuated from northwest China city near risky reservoir” from Xinhua.