Largest-Ever Three Gorges Dam Flood Arrives, Chongqing Residents Evacuate

Residents in Chinese cities Chongqing and Wuhan were keeping their fingers crossed when the fifth flood peak on the Yangtze River arrived at the Three Gorges Dam. The water coming into the dam reached 75,000 cubic meters per second on the morning of Aug. 20, the highest level since the dam was commissioned in 2003. Water levels and flood volume in Yangtze River’s Chongqing section, which is immediately upstream of the dam, both exceeded the previous historical record set in 1981. In the riverside districts, residents who live on the first and second floors were required to evacuate. The dam opened 11 spillways to discharge water, at a record speed of 49,200 cubic meters per second, as downstream Wuhan issued an orange alert for more rainstorms to come.