Concerns grow as China braces for more heavy rains and floods
- Reservoir water level at Three Gorges Dam on Yangtze River has risen by 12 metres in past 10 days and is nearing its maximum, Beijing says
- Economic cost of annual floods up 11 per cent from last year at US$7.1 billion
China’s battle with some of the worst flooding in decades has entered a crucial stage after more heavy rains boosted water levels in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River on Friday.
The inflow at the Three Gorges Dam, which spans Asia’s longest river, hit 61,000 cubic metres per second on Saturday morning, pushing its reservoir water level to 160 metres (525 feet), according to the Ministry of Water Resources.
The reservoir level has risen by almost 12 metres over the past 10 days and is nearing the dam’s design-maximum of 175 metres, the ministry said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday that flood control efforts were at a key stage, as the heaviest rains tended to fall in late July and early August in central and northern China.
He also warned of potential flooding of the Yellow River, China’s second-longest waterway.
More than 20 million people in 24 provinces – including Jiangxi, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing and Guizhou – have been affected by the flooding in recent weeks. A total of 141 people have been reported dead or missing since early June and more than 1.7 million have been forced to relocate, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.