A 3.7-kilometer dam was demolished in Hubei Province in China on Thursday, CCTV reports.
‘We spent a night preparing everything for the explosion to work as planned, and we demolished the dam successfully. Now, the dam between Liangzi Lake and Niushan Lake is completely destroyed and the Liangzi Lake has become larger than before,’ Deputy Commander of Armed Police Hydropower Troops said as quoted by the TV channel.
The armed police said the blast can disperse 5,000-cubic-meter floodwater of the Liangzi Lake and bring down the water level below the safety level, which prepares the lake for the future rains.
Liangzi is the second largest lake in Hubei, which has been among the region's worst hit by the recent deadly downpours. Due to persistent rain since mid-June, water level of the lake hit record high - 0.12 meters above the safety level.
The police evacuated over 1,500 people before the operation.
