Three Gorges Dam Overwhelmed! 11 Floodgates Open, Abandoning Downstream Hubei, Frequent Dam Failures

China Observer

High levels of water in the Wuhan region!

17 Jul 2024 #chinaobserver

Recently, due to upstream water pressure, the Three Gorges Dam has increased its flood discharge efforts. On the morning of July 16, local time, the dam opened 11 spillways, releasing water at a rate of 44,000 cubic meters per second. This is only the second time since its commissioning in 2003 that the dam has opened 11 spillways, the last time being in 2020. Previously, a person from Hubei commented online that if the Three Gorges Dam opens 11 spillways, it means the dam has abandoned Hubei Province.

Indeed, the Three Gorges Dam has been discharging large volumes of water for several consecutive days. Since July 13, multiple areas in Hubei Province, including Shiyan, Wuhan, Yichang, and Xiaogan, have experienced heavy rainfall, leading to rapidly rising river levels, turbulent flows, and numerous incidents of dike breaches and dam failures.