Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 1072 - 698: To Blast or Not to Blast (2)

"Isn't the confluence of the Han River and the Yangtze River downstream?"

"Although the two rivers meet point is not on our side, and the floodwaters from the Han River won't flood us, they will back up the water from the upper Yangtze River, bringing unprecedented pressure to Hanwu, and at the same time, pushing up our water levels."

"Then why doesn't Master Xi recommend flood diversion?"

"Master Xi is not only concerned about the hundreds of thousands of people on the other side."

Han Yu looked at the time on the phone strapped to his chest and explained: "After repeated calculations, he and his colleagues came up with a set of data. Although this flood peak is ferocious and will cause the water level at Jingjiang to rise very high, it should not exceed the fourth flood peak. Moreover, the water level is very high, and the flow is swift, but the volume is not very large.

If we blast open the silt barrier to divert the flood now, it's like using a big basin to catch a cup of water. It would not only deprive hundreds of thousands of people in the flood diversion area of their homes but also not be very helpful for the subsequent flood relief. In short, it's not worth it to divert the flood now."

Dongdong pressed on, "Who decides whether or not to divert the flood?"

"Central decides, but the final decision is with Vice President L, after all, he understands the situation best."

"Has Vice President L arrived?"

"Yes, he has."

"Uncle, have you seen Vice President L?"

"No, Master Xi has; he reported to him."

Just then, Secretary Wang's call came through on the walkie-talkie.

"Received, I'm on the floating crane, what's up?"

"Salted Fish, several experts from the City Flood Control Command have arrived, they need to go to the North Gate to verify something, they're in a hurry, quickly arrange for 001 to send them across the river."

001 was initially scheduled to be dispatched for a levee explosion alert task, and almost all available law enforcement boats were sent out.

Han Yu, considering that the engineering fleet may need to execute major emergency rescue tasks at any time, requested through Boss Huang to keep 001, never expecting it to come in handy now.

He didn't dare delay a moment, climbing up with his walkie-talkie, "Received, I'll get on 001 immediately, I'll send the experts across the river."

"Uncle, I'm coming too."

"Alright, hurry up."

...

Han Yu climbed onto 001, personally steering it to the side of the dunship, only then realizing after picking up a few experts from the Jingjiang Water Resources Bureau, that the city leaders suddenly wanted to confirm the elevation of the North Gate.

This data is crucial.

Because once the silt barrier outside the inflow gate is blasted open, the inflow gate will face the flood.

If the water level is higher than the inflow gate, then the flood would overflow the inflow gate and rush into the flood control area without having to open it.

The inflow gate is an essential flood control facility, it cannot be damaged by the flood waters, nor can it be breached or collapsed, as its mission is not only to open the gate to divert the flood but also to close it to block the flood and play a role in regulating the water level; it was opened three times during the 1954 flood diversion.

If the flood is allowed to flow into the flood control area, what if the embankment on the outer side of the flood control project can't hold?

Not to mention those at a distance like the recent breach at Mengxi Embankment.

To the south lies Xiang'an County in Nanhu Province, which was also flooded, but thanks to a North Embankment bordering Angong County, the water levels to the north and south differ by nearly ten meters.

Some uninformed people from Nanhu were said to have mistakenly thought Beihu was intentionally releasing the flood, almost leading to a confrontation with the cadres and masses of Angong County. In fact, Nanhu Province was strongly against the flood control project constructed in Angong County back then.

In short, even if it is decided to divert the flood, it must be ensured that there is no chance of anything going wrong.

The river near the silt barrier was filled with law enforcement vessels on alert duty, Han Yu turned on the police lights, picked up the walkie-talkie, tuned in to the police wireless frequency, and communicated the mission of this trip.

The leaders of the Jingzhou Public Bureau responsible for the alert task immediately contacted the anti-flood command, confirming that the "Hong Kong Garrison's" 001 was not there to cause damage before allowing a small patrol boat blocking 001 to clear.

As the inflow gate was blocked by the silt barrier, Han Yu could only send the three water resources experts to the edge of the silt barrier.

Considering that the experts could not get ashore, he instructed Old Zhu and Xiao Chen to lower the iron dinghy and with Dongdong's help, transported the three experts ashore.

Han Yu found a place to moor the iron dinghy, helping the experts up, was startled to see the strict surveillance onshore with checkpoints every three steps and sentry posts every five steps. Not only were there public security police but also many Civilian Soldiers sent by the Jingzhou Military District, fully armed.

The silt barrier was about 2.5 kilometers from the inflow gate, no one could reach it without contact.

Han Yu called Old Wang again, requesting him to connect with the city flood control command. After waiting on the embankment for about five minutes, the Deputy Chief of Staff from the Jingzhou Military District came personally to pick them up.

As they arrived relatively early and performed various urgent rescue tasks daily on the river, akin to a fire brigade, the "Hong Kong Garrison" had a notable reputation among the flood relief forces on both sides of the Jingjiang.

Their reputation was significant for at least a dozen reasons.

For instance, the "Hong Kong Garrison" came with a gas station and a water plant, or because they had several large excavators, or they were well-fed, or they included female soldiers, among others.

When the Deputy Chief of Staff met the legendary "Hong Kong Garrison" company leader, he was very curious about the young aide beside the leader, opened the car door and said: "Secretary Han, come along, we should be able to fit."

"Deputy Chief of Staff Xiang, I'll stay here, I'll wait."

"Alright."

The Deputy Chief of Staff Xiang ushered the three experts into the car while explaining: "The alert is so stringent mainly for safety reasons. There are 119 explosive chambers within this silt barrier, with a total of twenty tons of explosives pre-buried. No one knows if an accident might occur, so we have to be extra cautious."