New dam slows devastating China floods

China's newest dam appears to have slowed high waters which have killed more than 700 people across the country this year alone.


The Three Gorges Dam on the country’s Yangtze River is, for the time being at least, holding back the tide in its first major flood-control test claimed officials of the China Three Gorges Corporation last night (July 20).

The flow on the river’s upper reaches topped 70,000 cubic meters a second yesterday 20,000 cubic meters more than the flow during the 1998 floods that killed 4,150 people and the highest level since the dam was completed last year.

“The peak flow is high, but it has not exceeded the designed capacity of 100,000 cubic meters of water per second,” said Cao Guangjing, the corporation’s chairman, “the dam can withstand the challenge easily.”

China is also tackling a large oil spill after a pipeline explosion in north-east China left oil pouring into the sea at two locations.

Greenpeace has called the spill one of the ‘worst in recent memory’ and the Chinese Government has drafted in 100s of fisherman to help tackle the leak.

Luke Walsh

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