4 Major Yangtze Floods Rush to Three Gorges Dam, Causing Downstream Flooding And Submerging Cities

Due to the heavy rains in upstream Sichuan and Shaanxi, the water levels in the Fujiang River, a tributary of the Jialing River, rose rapidly. By 9:00 AM on July 18, the flow rate at the Xiaoheba station had surged to 9,160 cubic meters per second. The Yangtze River Water Resources Commission’s Hydrology Bureau announced that the “No. 2 Flood of 2024 on the Jialing River“ had formed in the Fujiang River. In response to the flood peak, many hydropower stations along the Fujiang and Jialing Rivers are releasing water. The Tongquanba Hydropower Station in Suining on the middle reaches of the Fujiang River has opened all its floodgates to release water. Simultaneously, on July 18, at 1:30 AM, the water level at the Jiajiang hydrological station on the main stream of the Qingyi River, an important river in the upper Yangtze Basin, reached 411.9 meters. The corresponding flow rate was 9,060 cubic meters per second, meeting the criteria for a designated flood event. This marked the first flood o