Aerial photo taken on July 22, 2021 shows rescuers evacuating stranded people outside the Fuwai Central China Cardiovascular Hospital in flood-hit Zhongmu County of Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province.Photo:Xinhua

The long dike breach along the Gongqu Canal in flood-stricken Xinxiang, Central China's Henan Province, has been closed as of Monday morning, presenting a turning point that will hopefully see the flood discharged in Xinxiang and neighboring cities like Weihui, the Global Times learned from the Henan branch of the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP).

After more than 80 hours of non-stop work, the PAP troops were finally able to close the breach at 8:58 am, sealing off a dike with a length of more than 100 meters and the depth of eight meters by using a large amount of sand, soil and rocks. A number of discarded trucks were also pushed into the breach to provide structural support for the sand bags.

The successful closure of the dike breach means that the flood in Xinxiang will be discharged, and this also means an important turning point to other neighboring locations like Weihui, the Global Times learned.

Northern and central Xinxiang suffered from downpours over the past days, and the dike breach caused the flood in Gongqu Canal to overflow into the neighboring Weihe River, both are the city's main drainage channels.

This caused the rivers to become one large channel, which backed up into the city and subsequently flooded nearby villages, the Global Times found.

Some of the areas near the breached dike in Xinxiang were stricken by flooding up to two or three meters deep.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army, the PAP, local government officials and nearby villagers collaborated on the operation.