China's biggest freshwater Poyang Lake has been put on flood alert
after its water levels rose above the alert lines Tuesday.
The water level is still rising as a result of the upstream flood
crest in the Yangtze River and the high water level in Dongting
Lake in Hunan Province of central China.
According to Jiangxi provincial hydrological departments, the
Yangtze River has been flowing into Poyang Lake at a rate of
6,270cubic meters per second since July 11.
Located in Jiangxi Province, Poyang Lake covers an area of 3,583
square kilometers.
In
the low-water season, the lake resembles a river with many branches
because of its irregularly-indented shorelines. It receives the
flow of the Ganjiang, Fujiang, Xinjiang and Xiushui rivers.
Its water enters the Yangtze River through only one channel and
during flood seasons, Poyang Lake helps keep down floods on the big
river by retarding and storing the waters of the tributaries to the
Yangtze River.
(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2003)
