On June 25, the National Meteorological Center issued a red alert for heavy rain three times. At 10 p.m. on June 24, Xin'anjiang Reservoir, Zhejiang's largest reservoir, began discharging floodwater through seven spillway gates, and as of 8 p.m. on June 25, the reservoir level remained very high but was still below the flood limit. In Jiangxi, the flood-control emergency response level has been raised to Level III, and many villages in Leping City, Jingdezhen, have been inundated. When a reservoir discharges floodwater, how should downstream cities prepare contingency plans and respond? How can trapped residents be relocated safely in advance?

　　Zhejiang's Xin'anjiang Reservoir is for now not considering opening nine gates for flood discharge.

Chen Yexing, chief engineer of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Water Resources: At 7 p.m. on June 24, the water level of Xin'anjiang Reservoir was 105.4 meters; the inflow at that time was 5,690 cubic meters per second, and the outflow was 3,090 cubic meters per second. At that time, the reservoir level was still rising continuously. In particular, according to the forecasts of the meteorological department at that time, there would be about 300 millimeters of rainfall in the reservoir area over the next three days. If five-gate discharge were maintained, the forecast reservoir level could exceed 107 meters and possibly reach 108 meters. Therefore, after assessment, we decided to open seven gates for flood discharge at 10 p.m. on June 24. By 9 p.m. on June 25, the water level of Xin'anjiang Reservoir was 105.74 meters, still some distance below the flood-limit level of 106.5 meters. According to current forecasts, we assess that the reservoir level is not very likely to exceed 107 meters in the near term, so for now we are not considering nine-gate discharge. If subsequent forecasts show heavy rainfall, we will comprehensively consider the rain and water conditions as well as upstream and downstream conditions, conduct an integrated assessment, and decide whether to open nine gates.

　　Xin'anjiang Reservoir opens seven gates for flood discharge.

　　How should downstream cities respond?

Chen Yexing, chief engineer of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Water Resources: To carry out flood discharge in an orderly manner, we need all areas along the downstream route to ensure safety, especially in terms of personnel relocation, where we must ensure nothing goes wrong. Therefore, according to the dispatch instructions, the strategy we implement is: when no gate is open, make relocation preparations for opening one gate; when one gate is open, simultaneously make relocation preparations for opening three gates; and so on. Now that seven gates have been opened, areas along the route must in fact make personnel relocation preparations for opening nine gates, which means responding at a higher level and in advance. In personnel relocation, we must achieve three "all":

1. All risk points must be evacuated;

2. All places that are not risk points but have abnormal conditions must be evacuated;

3. All places where absolute safety cannot be guaranteed must also be evacuated.

　　Jiangxi hit by heavy rainfall.

　　Flood control faces pressure on two fronts.

Wu Xuewen, director of the Flood Control and Drought Relief Division of the Jiangxi Provincial Emergency Management Department: Since June 9, Jiangxi Province has experienced its longest-lasting, most intense, and most widespread heavy rainfall process of the year. This rainfall has basically covered the entire province, with cumulative rainfall of 320 millimeters, nearly 80 percent more than the multi-year average for the same period. Starting June 22, the rainfall has mainly been concentrated in northern Jiangxi and the northern part of central Jiangxi. According to forecasts by the meteorological department, rainfall in Jiangxi will remain in this area over the next two days. Therefore, affected by sustained rainfall, the Xiuhe River, Le'an River, and Changjiang River in Jiangxi have recently experienced above-warning floods, and some river sections are still rising. According to hydrological forecasts, Xingzi Station, the representative station of Poyang Lake, may also experience above-warning floods, so the flood-control pressure in Jiangxi Province is further increasing. At present, we face a situation of fighting on two fronts. On the one hand, we must continuously monitor and prevent mountain torrents and geological disasters, floods in small and medium-sized rivers, urban and rural waterlogging, and safety during the flood season in key areas such as small and medium-sized reservoirs, tailings ponds, and water-related projects under construction that may be caused by heavy rainfall. On the other hand, we must pay close attention to dike defense along rivers and lakeside areas under high water levels in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Because Jiangxi has many dikes, with more than 3,300 kilometers around Poyang Lake alone, the pressure on defense is still very great.