The first outlet exploded at 3:18 p.m. had successfully helped lower the water level from the original 26.55 meters at the explosion time to 26.04 meters by 8:00 p.m., as marked by the Zhengyangguan hydraulic station two kilometers from the breach site.

As the explosions have already kept the water level under the warning line, Tangduo Lake could directly alleviate the flood control pressure over the major dike of the Huaihe River, said Luo Zewang, an engineer with the Huaihe River Water Resources Committee under the Ministry of Water Resources.

With a total water storage capacity of 500 million cubic meters, Tangduo Lake had experienced 10 explosions for flood control in the past with the latest being in 1991.

Before the first blasting, over 19,500 local residents had been evacuated from the areas that were expected to be affected by the released floodwater.

Some 160,000 yuan (US$19,347) of disaster-relief funds, together with 20 tons of flour, 1,050 boxes of instant noodles and over 1,200 boxes of mineral water, had been allocated for the evacuated people.

(Xinhua New Agency July 7, 2003)