Chapter 990 It doesn’t matter if it’s blocked, we’ll blow it up

"Commander, the emergency command center reports that the blasting of the bottom gate was very successful. There was no damage to the dam body. All six bottom gates of the reservoir were successfully opened. The discharge flow increased significantly, and the speed of water level rise slowed down significantly. It is expected that the time it takes for the water level to rise to the warning line can be increased by more than two days!"

In Beijing, the staff who received the report from the on-site command center did not dare to neglect it and woke up the leader who was still resting. He had clearly stated that any changes should be notified to him as soon as possible.

Before the water level of the main dam spillway rose, the discharge flow of the spillway was even less than that of the bottom hole. Therefore, the bottom hole gate, which was blown up nearly 30 hours ahead of schedule, bought more buffer time for the dam, much more than if it was blown up after 40 hours.

Regarding this matter, it has been recorded in the math problem of one pipe for filling water and another pipe for draining water in the elementary school textbook.

Disaster rescue is a very complicated matter. Sometimes it can be said that one small move can affect the entire body. This change may be a good change or a bad change.

And what is being reported now is the good kind, and it is very good.

"Well done! Thank you for your hard work, comrades." Although the comrades were not in front of him, the leader still couldn't help but say thank you for your hard work.

"Yes, after receiving the new dangerous situation, the on-site command center quickly adjusted its deployment, concentrated its forces, and required the pyrotechnic expert group to complete the bottom hole blasting within 4 hours and ensure safety. With the support of the manpower mobilized by the command center, Gao Zhendong and other comrades from the pyrotechnic expert group went all out and successfully completed the blasting in just 3 hours, blasting the bottom hole 37 hours earlier than originally planned, increasing the discharge flow."

The comrade who made the report described the process in great detail, which is a very important part of this rescue operation. The rescue command center also gave a very detailed report.

"The saviors of the masses, these comrades are all great!"

If Gao Zhendong were here, he would probably shake his head immediately and say, "No, no, no, it's not necessary. You are the ones who should be punished."

"The key now is to see where the exit is?"

"Yes, now it depends on the other side. We have done everything we can here. The comrades on the main and auxiliary dams are not taking it lightly and are still raising the dams according to the deployment. However, there is a limit to how high the dam can be raised. Now it depends on the comrades on the breach side."

The height to which an earth-rock gravity dam can be raised is limited without widening and thickening the dam as a whole, and it is obviously impossible to have the strength to complete the widening and thickening work during a rescue operation.

In fact, even this limited increase in height is very difficult. The soil used for raising the dam cannot be taken from the dam. If it is really done, the soil will collapse without being washed away by water. It can only be transported from a material yard far away from the dam. In addition, the dam itself is huge, so the raising work is not actually fast.

"Well, send a telegram and ask the on-site command center to make persistent efforts based on the actual situation to protect the dam and complete this rescue mission beautifully."

The leader did not make any specific instructions. Far away in the capital, they just needed to express their attitude, show support and mobilize relevant forces, but micro-manipulation would be inappropriate. He was very clear about these things.

At this time, the dam was preparing to welcome the arrival of the congestion body.

"How far is it from here now?"

"According to the comrades on the helicopter, they will reach us in about half an hour."

The helicopter responsible for tracking the congestion is a search and rescue helicopter, and the thermal imager on it can more or less see the situation clearly.

"It will be soon." The leaders and the expert group were all at the dam shoulders, waiting for the arrival of this trouble.

The reduction in discharge caused by the big trouble has been solved, but what we need to pay attention to now is their impact on the pillars of the spillway gates. Don't knock over the pillars and expose the soil underneath, which is still very dangerous.

time flies.

"Here it comes." Although it was the middle of the night, some comrades had already vaguely seen the trouble.

Under the light of the searchlight, the twisted and entangled branches are clearly visible, and countless debris are wrapped in these trees, forming a thick, indescribable mass, which wriggles and changes under the push of the waves. Against the backdrop of the searchlight, the dark night behind increases people's worries about the unknown.

The water flow was not fast, and these things did not look like a herd of galloping horses, but rather like a group of ants, slowly but resolutely following the water flow towards the spillway gate pillars.

There was no earth-shaking sound, nor any thrilling scene. These things just came forward and were blocked there. The trees and debris behind them continued to move forward under the push of the water flow. This group of things that seemed endless was slowly being compressed and became smaller.

The pillars in the spillway stood still under the push of the trees, as if they were giants firmly rooted in the dam.

"We held on!" After observing for a while, the people on the dam breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as this loose structure can withstand the first wave, the rest will be much easier. The loose connection between them makes it difficult to separate them for a while under the push of the water flow, but they can't form a combined force. Looking at this scene, the comrades turned their heads to look at the spillway, which is a positive channel spillway on the side of the dam. It is very close to the comrades and can be seen at a glance. For earth gravity dams like this, the spillway is generally not set on the dam body.

As the debris crowded at the spillway mouth, the outflow of the spillway decreased visibly. Seeing this scene, the comrades secretly rejoiced in their hearts that it was fortunate that the blasting could be carried out, and fortunately that the blasting was carried out early!
After a period of observation and calculation, the experts in charge of hydrology and hydraulic engineering reported to the leadership: "The discharge flow has indeed been affected, but with the bottom gate as a supplement, the overall situation is good. The water level is rising, but when the water level rises to a certain level and the congestion body is raised, it will gradually restore some of its discharge capacity. With the addition of the bottom gate, the time it takes for the water to rise to the top of the dam can be delayed to a level sufficient to block the upstream outlet."

After hearing their words, the comrades felt relieved. That would be easy to deal with. Even if there was an accident on the blocking side, causing the speed to slow down, the dam had been raised here and could hold out for a while. In this way, the comrades were very confident that the dam could be saved.

"Comrade Gao Zhendong, thank you for your hard work." The leaders of the water conservancy department, feeling relieved, now had time to thank Gao Zhendong again. If the six bottom holes had not been blown open, the water would have overflowed from the top of the dam in less than three days, let alone the originally estimated four and a half days.

It is now the 60th hour of the expert group's work and there are still 12 hours until the end of the third day.

"This is what we should do." Gao Zhendong was also very happy.

"Now, in the name of the emergency command center, I order all comrades in the pyrotechnic team to go and rest! You have worked hard these past few days."

If the comrades on the dam still work in three shifts, then the comrades in the pyrotechnic group, whether it was Gao Zhendong and a few others who arrived first, or the senior technicians and technical personnel who were transferred from Beijing, Changjian Factory and other places later, have been working continuously until now in the absence of sufficient backup support and replacement forces.

Although they arrived at different times and worked for different lengths of time, the journey before arrival was very tiring. Whether it was a flying tractor or a ground tractor, it was uncomfortable to sit on it, and there was no way to rest. Yes, some comrades arrived at the site on a tractor that transported materials.

Not to mention that their work involves pyrotechnics, which brings them extremely high mental pressure.

"Okay, then we'll keep some people on duty, and the rest of the comrades can go and rest first."

Gao Zhendong did not shirk his responsibility. The period in which this group of comrades could play a role had ended. Even if they wanted to participate in the rescue operation, they had to wait until they had a good rest. In terms of manpower alone, there was enough manpower now. Not to mention anything else, those comrades who had transported materials from various nearby places were all participating in the rescue operation on the spot. They would not return to their base until the matter was over.

"Okay, don't worry, leave the rest to us!" the leader said with a smile.

The comrades all laughed and were full of confidence.

"Hua Hua Hua..."

Watching Gao Zhendong and his men walking down the dam, the comrades behind him burst into deafening applause, which echoed over the sky above the dam.

On the other side of the blockage, the comrades at the on-site command center showed joy after listening to the report from the dam on the radio. They quickly wrote a note and handed it to a communicator next to them.

"Come, take this to our front-line radio station and report this good news to our comrades."

The communicator took the note, looked at it twice, and said with joy: "Yes!"

Soon, the joyful voices of our front-line radio station announcers were heard from both ends of the breach.

"Comrades, I have good news to report to you. At the main dam of the downstream reservoir, the comrades responsible for the rescue of the main dam have successfully blasted open the bottom hole of the dam, increasing the flood discharge, solving the problem of congestion in the spillway, and buying us enough time."

The comrades, who had been extremely anxious because of the new danger and had exerted all their strength, all laughed when they heard the good news.

"Great!"

"Come on, come on, we can't let the comrades downstream work in vain."

"Yes! We can't be outdone by them."

The huge rock that had been weighing on their hearts because of the new danger disappeared without a trace, and what was left was full of enthusiasm.
-
Three days later, Gao Zhendong and the expert team stood on the main dam, watching the water waves approaching the dam top warning line.

"The water level is getting higher and higher. What's the situation at the dam?"

"It is said that we have reached the final stage of the tough battle." In fact, there is still some time before the original plan to block the entrance. The comrades over there have put in all their efforts and advanced the time a little bit.

Compared to this side, where the engineering work was not too difficult before the water level rose, over there we have to directly contend with the increasingly rapid water flow.

(End of this chapter)