Product category:
Hydrometry, Environment and Floods
News Release from: SonTek/YSI
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 03 June 2008
Flood assessment equipment donation for
China
Fears of flash flooding and massive mudslides continue to threaten thousands in China: SonTek/YSI has donated USD65k of acoustic Doppler current surveyors for flood assessments
People in China are still working to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives following the massive 8.0 magnitude earthquake, the epicenter of which was in the Sichuan province of Wenchuan county, on 12th May As strong aftershocks continue to rattle an already weakened infrastructure, and with a monsoon season just around the corner, SonTek/YSI, and parent company YSI, have responded by donating acoustic Doppler profiler measurement systems, that will allow regional hydrologists to gauge the speed and strength of water flow
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 27 Feb 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Experience in monitoring the Lower Colorado River
The Lower Colorado River Authority water flow data has to deliver on-the-spot forecasts and 80-year projections: a report on the enormous task facing the LCRA hydrologists every day
New side-looking Doppler current meter
The world's leading side-looking Doppler current meter just got better, with lighter weight, smaller and more powerful open channel water flow measurement systems suitable even for narrow channels
A simple ceremony was held at the Sichuan Hydrology Bureau on 22 May, attended by SHB Director, Zhang Ting, SonTek and YSI Applications Specialists, James Chen and Mark Tepper, as well as other government officials and local hydrologists.
On 24th May, after receiving special permission to enter the disaster zone, Chen and Tepper from SonTek, along with local hydrologists, assisted in the collection of data in the Luoshui River in the city of Shifang, which was earlier blocked by rocks and mud.
According to first-hand accounts by Tepper "the monitoring station was severely damaged and the cableway, which is normally operated to make flow measurements, was completely destroyed.
Further reading
A steady flow of data helps manage floods
Fast, reliable water level and velocity information is proving vital worldwide, with devastating floods dominating the headlines in 2007 - from rural China to the rolling meadows of England
Argonaut at Boscastle will monitor flow and levels
Following the Boscastle flood, substantial improvements are being implemented and a SonTek/YSI continuous flow monitor, the Argonaut, has been installed in the River Valency
Both sides of the river were pummeled with large rocks.
Sadly, physical injuries to local residents, including children, were also apparent".
Tepper says officials are now worried about a more serious situation that has occurred in the remote city of Beichuan, where 34 lakes have formed due to landslides.
Hydrology officials wish to measure the volume and depth of the water in these lakes as quickly as possible.
However, Tepper says access is proving to be extremely difficult, with steep cliffs surrounding the lakes and no road access.
Helicopters are currently the only method of transportation to the lakes and Tepper says he and Chen are on stand-by to assist.
The Doppler current surveyors allow for very fast assessment of the overall flood conditions.
The advanced hydroacoustic measurement techniques can do in minutes what it normally takes a field crew hours to do using conventional instruments.
According to officials from the Sichuan and Shaanxi Hydrology Bureaux and the Sichuan SEPA, over two dozen hydrology monitoring stations are inoperable or are completely destroyed and they are urgently in need of equipment to measure water flow and quality.
Reports estimate 400 dams have been damaged and are a possible threat to approximately 180,000 residents who live in the dam discharge paths.
• SonTek/YSI: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Processingtalk email newsletter
• Processingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
