A large-scale disaster response exercise was held on Thursday in the waters off Jingtang Port in Tangshan City, north China's Hebei Province, according to the Maritime Safety Administration.
The drill simulated a scenario where a vessel operating in an oil field area was on fire with oil spillage, involving injuries.
The focus of the exercise was to test the coordination of search and rescue forces and oil spill emergency response, in order to improve the capacity to guarantee the safety for vessels operating in oil fields.
Massive emergency response drill staged in Bohai Sea region
Emergency engineering work is still busy underway to block and close the breach caused by a disastrous dike burst on part of the Dongting Lake in Tuanzhou Township of Yueyang City in central China's Hunan Province, which has led to the evacuation of more than 5,700 local residents.
A dike of the Dongting Lake burst at 17:48 Friday following failed emergency repair efforts in Tuanzhou Township, Huarong County under Yueyang City, causing flooding in the low-lying areas in the vicinity.
Initially, the breach was 10 meters wide later Friday, but it expanded to 226 meters by 11:00 on Saturday, with a water level difference of 0.1 meters. The flooding covers an area of 47.64 square kilometers.
As of Sunday morning, the water level has stabilized. Emergency crews are engaged in busy repair work at both ends of the breach to prevent further expansion.
More than 2,300 emergency crew members and over 160 speedboats have been deployed to carry out the emergency operations. About 55,600 tons of rocks have been urgently transferred from Huarong's surrounding counties and cities to block the gap. Plastic sheets have been laid on 10 kilometers of areas to reinforce a dam that separates Tuanzhou from nearby townships.
Additionally, local governments at the county, city, and provincial levels have provided emergency supplies, including 1,000 tents, 3,200 rollaway beds, 3,200 summer blankets, and 3,200 mattresses.
China's Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management have dispatched working groups to the scene. More than 800 personnel from the China National Comprehensive Fire and Rescue Team, along with 146 vehicles and 82 boats, have been deployed.
Drones and remote sensing satellites have been used to gather images of the dike breach and the affected areas.
So far, over 5,700 residents of the affected area have been evacuated to safety, and no casualties have been reported, according to the local flood control department.
Emergency response intensifies as dike breach triggers flooding in central China county
