Wuhan merges 2 lakes to help fight flooding

Wuhan, the city in Hubei province that has suffered severe urban waterlogging, destroyed a 1-kilometer-long dike on Thursday to permanently enlarge its biggest lake, increasing the city's capacity to fight flooding.

The explosion helped Niushan Lake join its mother lake, Liangzi Lake, 37 years after the two were artificially separated. This lowered the water level of Liangzi by 15 centimeters to a safer level of 21.33 meters.

"Due to various reasons, the number and surface area of lakes in our province have dropped a lot as many lake areas were reclaimed for farming or filled for building," Ren Zhenhe, vice-governor of Hubei, said on Wednesday.