The El Nino weather system, which began in September 2014, has been the longest and strongest since records began in 1951. It's similar to the one that triggered heavy flooding of the Yangtze River in 1998. Flooding on that scale is possible on Asia's longest river yet again. So how is The Three Gorges Dam dealing with rising water levels?
Due to the El Nino weather effect, flood season is coming earlier this summer. Inflow from the upper streams of the Yangtze River has hit an eight-year high. That's forcing the Three Gorges Dam to drain off more of its stored water and brace itself for floods. As of May 21st, the water level stood at 153 meters. China Three Gorges Corporation aims to bring it down to just over 146 meters, a safer level to cope with floods.
"Starting in April, the Three Gorges Dam is discharging water everyday, according to a directive from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. It's expected to discharge a total of 22.15 billion cubic meters of water at the beginning of June," said Xing Nong, chief engineer of China Three Georges Corporation.
The Three Gorges project is on the stretch of the Yangtze River in Yichang City, Hubei Province. It's a multi-functional water control system consisting of a dam more than 2300 meters long and almost 190 meters high. The dam also features a five-tier ship lock and 26 hydropower turbo-generators. The reservoir stores flood water in summer and releases it during the dry season to ease droughts.
This year, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said that 21 dams in the reservoir will be brought on board to jointly cope with the possible flood.
"In 2010 and 2012, the Three Gorges Dam successfully coped with its biggest flood, far exceeding that of 1998. The dam was built to be able to protect the area below from major floods, which occur once every 100 years. I don't think it's a particularly great challenge to deal with this summer's heavy flooding as long as we do what the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters tell us,"Xie said.
"The flood control and drought relief situation is extremely serious in the Yangtze River. But we can say that the risks are controllable," said Chen Min, Director of Flood Control and Drought Relief Office, Changjiang Water Resources Commission.
According to the Yangtze River Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, precipitation along the Yangtze River will rise by 10 to 50 percent this year, and in some areas that figure will hit 80 percent. But many experts said that the floods expected this year are unlikely to cause significant damage due to China's improved flood control capabilities.
The Three Gorges Dam was built to adjust the peak flood level of the Yangtze River. It has helped significantly with the flood control. Many hope it will continue to keep people living in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River safe this year.
