S. China Drought Stands 900 Ships At Reservoir Lock In Guangxi

[hatrack]

Stranded ships are seen in the waterway on Wuzhou City section of Xijiang River in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Saturday, Feb 27, 2010.

NANNING: Nine hundred ships jammed before a navigation lock of a reservoir in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region amid falling water level caused by severe drought, local authorities said Saturday.

The waterway traffic jam started on Tuesday and the number of stranded ships had been increasing on Wuzhou City section of Xijiang River, said an official with the city's maritime affairs department.

The rapid drop of the reservoir's water volume due to the drought and the increased transport demand after the Spring Festival were behind the waterway jam, the spokesman added.

The provincial maritime authorities had limited the number to ships sailing toward the reservoir to less than ten ships a day, he said. About 20 ships were let pass the navigation lock a day, he added.

EDIT

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-02/28/content_9514321.htm

[ensho]

1. 900!! really bad news

nt

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. Not necessarily -

how many ships there would it take to raise the water level back to navigable levels?

Looks like they're trying to find out.

[DCKit]

3. Ahhhh, use the displacement of the ships to raise the water level.

Beats the hell out of my idea of filling it in with gravel.