Below the surface: Chinese city submerged as nature ‘reclaims lost lakes’
Land reclamation in Wuhan for construction worsened floods, say locals
The week-long torrential rains have stopped but 60-year-old Wang Caihua still has no idea what to do about his home and small cement products plant in Wuhan – they were submerged by a sudden swell of water on Wednesday night.
“The water must be coming from Tangxun Lake – [the government] might have released some water from the lake to reduce the pressure,” he said, pointing towards a larger lake behind him.
The area near Tangxun Lake, in the southeast of the city, has been hard hit by the floods since water levels on the lake reached “extreme limits”, authorities said.
I only just had time to escape [from my house] with my wife
“The water rose so quickly [on Wednesday night]. I only just had time to escape [from my house] with my wife,” he said.
Wang had rented some land from a local owner four years ago, but learned only later that it had once been used as the site of fish ponds linked to Tangxun Lake.
“Construction waste was dumped into the ponds and they became land. But they’ve now gone back to being underwater,” Wang said.
The fact these former ponds and lakes that were turned into land are now underwater again, following the week-long rain, may be one of the main reasons why urban flooding in Wuhan is only getting worse – despite the 13 billion yuan (HK$15 billion) the government has spent on improving its drainage infrastructure.