Restoration work for two remaining dike breaches in Hunan underway

Restoration work is now underway for two dike breaches in Xiangtan County, central China's Hunan Province as floodwaters recede.

Due to heavy rain last week, three dike breaches occurred in the county, with one getting restored on Monday. The dike breach in Yisuhe Town was the widest among the three, reaching 81 meters. With water having receded now, heavy machines are on the site and groups of workers, operating in 24-hour rotational shifts, are sparing no effort to restore the dike as quickly as possible.

"We have been clearing the base of the dike from last night. As the base clearing is now completed, reinforcement of the dike is underway," explained Zhang Xuanzhuang, director of Safety and Environmental Protection Department at China Aneng Group First Engineering Bureau.

The road conditions near the dike breach made it difficult for the restoration work to start at first. To solve that problem, the workers from Aneng Group First Engineering Bureau and local government planed new traffic routes for trucks to transport materials.

"Getting in the material was initially a challenge. We worked together with the local government to find a solution. First, we dispatched small teams to maintain the roads, and second, the local government departments planned the traffic routes. The route is now one-way: supply trucks enter from the right bank and exit from the left one," explained Zhang.

Restoration work for two remaining dike breaches in Hunan underway

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday slashed interest rates by 50 basis points amid cooling inflation and a weakening labor market, marking the first rate cut in over four years.

"The Committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance," the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank's policy-setting body, said in a statement.

"In light of the progress on inflation and the balance of risks, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/2 percentage point to 4-3/4 to 5 percent," the FOMC said.

This signals the start of an easing cycle. Starting from March 2022, the Fed had raised rates consecutively for 11 times to combat inflation not seen in forty years, pushing the target range for the federal funds rate up to between 5.25 percent and 5.5 percent, the highest level in over two decades.

After maintaining rates at the high level for over a year, the Fed's tight monetary policy faced pressure to pivot due to the easing of inflationary pressures, signs of weakening in the job market, and slowing economic growth.

U.S. Fed slashes rates by 50 basis points, first rate cut in four years