water level

The combined water levels in the western reservoirs have fallen to their lowest in their history.

By the time the men were found in the early hours of Friday, rising water levels meant the simplest way out was impassable, forcing the rescuers and the cavers to retrace their steps.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement about the situation and its maintenance staff responded “to mitigate rising water levels outside the facility while paying particular attention to remove any water that seeped into the facility.”

But Prof Chen said the academic community had sounded the alarm bell before, as universities were closely monitoring the water level of the barrier lake and worked with authorities on the emergency plans.

The Environment Agency had removed all the warnings by late on Sunday morning as water levels dropped.