Breach blamed on ancient construction techniques

The Water Resources Department in Central China's Hunan province has attributed a recent dike breach at Dongting Lake to inherent weaknesses in its structure that date back to its construction centuries ago.

The breached dike, in Huarong county, is part of a network of flood storage embankments built throughout the Dongting Lake area.

Unlike traditional river levees, they are designed to create designated flood zones, alleviating the pressure on main waterways when water levels are high.