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China flood: Yangtze river in the throes of third flood peak, 45 million impacted
Warning against a new peak that may appear later, China’s water resources ministry said, “The flood control and flood fighting situation is severe.”
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Torrential rain triggered the third flood peak of the Yangtze river on Sunday, putting the Three Gorges Dam under severe pressure as China grapples to mitigate the impact of the deluge that has already impacted more than 45 million people and resulted in losses worth billions of dollars.
Authorities have issued warnings of possible new flood peaks in the near future, requiring the Three Gorges Dam to reserve enough space for possible floods.
Warning against a new peak that may appear later, China’s water resources ministry said, “The flood control and flood fighting situation is severe.”
The volume of water inflow that has entered the reservoir has reached 50,000 cubic meters per second, state media reports said, adding that the reservoir will see inflow volume of 60,000 cubic meters per second around Tuesday.
By last week, China’s ministry of emergency had said that since June 1 the latest round of floods – possibly the worst since 1998 – had affected 45.52 million in 30 Chinese provinces including specific cities and counties.
The situation remains grim the sprawling municipality of Chongqing located along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, was hit on Monday by the most severe flooding since the flood season started this year.
“Residents living along the river have been urged to evacuate and stay away from the riverbank… a landslide has blocked a river in southwest China’s Chongqing City, forming a barrier lake that threatens nearby townships and a power station,” local authorities told state media.
State media reports have said that massive flooding along the Yangtze river, which is the longest river in Asia, has displaced over 2 million people.
The current round of flood in the Yangtze river is stronger than the first two rounds, as was the second round compared to the first.
The first flood this year arrived at the dam on July 2 with a peak flow rate of 53,000 cubic meters while the second one, in the third week of the month, was at 55,000 cubic meters per second.
Ahead of the second round of flood, water resources authorities was quoted by the state media as saying following continuous downpours in the upper reach of the Yangtze River, the “…Three Gorges Dam is being tested by the second floods this year in the Asia’s longest watercourse.”
The dam’s maximum capacity is 175 meters. As of Monday, the reservoir level was at 159.46 meters, slightly lower than 164.18 meters from a week ago, reported news agency Bloomberg.
