CHINA on high alert as river surges
Travelinfo.ca NEARLY 30,000 people in central China have been called up to guard a riverside city as the biggest flood peak in nine years is surging down the Yangtze, a popular river cruise destination. The official Xinhua news agency said tens of thousands of people have been summoned to stand guard to stop floodwaters breaching dikes in Jingzhou in Hubei province. Authorities declared more than 620 kilometres of riverbanks at risk along the Yangtze and its tributaries in the city. They have also called for tighter control of boats and small passenger ships on the river to ease river traffic congestion, but some cruises are going ahead as planned. Rainstorms since the weekend have ravaged many parts of China, including Beijing, where the heaviest rain in 60 years caused 37 deaths. More rainstorms are forecast over coming days.