Source: Global
Times
Three Gorges Dam. Photo: Xiao Weinan
The Three Gorges Dam has seen the largest flood peak since the construction of
the reservoir, reaching 75,000 cubic meters per second at 8 am on Thursday,
exceeding the largest inflow in history.
Eleven of the reservoir's spillway holes have been opened, discharging 49,200
cubic meters of water per second. The dam has 23 deep spillway holes and
22 surface spillway holes to efficiently release flood water and allow it to
stay firm.
Both inflow flood peak and discharge flow detected are higher than what
authorities forecast on Wednesday, when the Ministry of
Water Resources raised the emergency response to flooding from Level-III to
Level-II.
Three Gorges Dam. Photo: Xiao Weinan
The Three Gorges Corp said in a statement sent to the Global Times on
Wednesday that an "elaborate deployment and operation" plan will be
carried out to ease the flood defense pressure for Southwest China's Sichuan
Province and Chongqing Municipality.
On Thursday, Chongqing closed Hongya Cave, a tourist attraction known for its
similarity to a building from the Japanese animated movie Spirited Away, as
well as a number of other scenic spots and public avenues after the city
launched its first ever Level-I emergency response to the flood on
Tuesday.
The water level detected at Cuntan Port Station in Chongqing, located in the
upper reaches of the Yangtze River, reached 191.55 meters Thursday morning,
8.05 meters above the safety line, the highest since the station was
established in 1939.
Days of heavy rain in some parts of Sichuan have also caused waters to continue
to rise. In Leshan, floods that reached the toes of the famous towering Leshan
Giant Buddha statue for the first time in 70 years drew attention from home and
abroad.
However, aerial images on Wednesday showed that the Buddha's toes are now
exposed as the water level in Leshan retreated below the platform of the
Buddha's feet.
Three Gorges Dam. Photo: Xiao Weinan
Three Gorges Dam. Photo: Deng Bin
