The broken floodwall by the Huangpu River is still not fully out of
danger, given the combined effects of river tides and ongoing
ground subsidence in the area, said city officials.
Located around the western side of the floodwall, which cracked on
Wednesday in the aftermath of an earlier subsidence accident, a
temporary sandbag wall as a secondary safeguard against flooding,
tumbled at noon yesterday.
The river was being kept at bay as of Thursday afternoon by a
sandbag wall five meters high and nearly 100 meters long, built at
the outer eastern side of the floodwall to face the river water
directly.
"We are continuing to fortify the key outer defence to get the
emergency under control," said Su Ping, an official with the
Shanghai Water Authority.
That is badly necessary due to the forecast later high night tide,
he said, admitting that the ground subsidence in the area was not
completely contained.
The city's flood season began on July 1.
Blamed on an accident concerning nearby cross-river rail tunnels
still under construction, the earth subsidence began on Tuesday
near the Zhongshan South Road, causing a building in that area to
collapse and several others to become increasingly precarious,
followed later by the cracking of the floodwall.
Sources said the ground under the floodwall has so far sunk about
10 meters.
What impact the accident will bring to the construction of the
involved rail line M4, due to be put into operation in 2005,
remains uncertain, as further investigation of the damaged tunnels
is required, according to an official from the Shanghai Tunnel
Construction Co. Ltd.
While cement was being poured into the ground near the collapsed
building to stop any further subsidence, structurally unsound
buildings in the area were still being demolished, causing the
evacuation of over 100 people, who were temporarily housed in
nearby hotels and schools.
Although police has blocked traffic from the accident site, life in
neighboring areas goes almost as normal.
"We don't feel scared by the accident as the government's work
seems well organized," said a local woman, adding that the
government's emergency measures -- including water and power cuts
-- had not affected her life too much.
(China Daily July 4, 2003)