Beijing, August 21: China's Three Gorges Dam, the world's biggest hydroelectric station, is nearing capacity due to torrential rains. The dam is built on the mighty Yangtze River. Around 75,000 cubic metres per second of water flowed in from the Yangtze River on Thursday. The reservoirs depth reached 165.6 metres (543 feet) by Friday morning, Al Jazeera. China Floods: At Least 12 Killed, 10 Missing in Sichuan After Heavy Rains Hit Chinese Province.

The maximum designed depth of the dam is 175 metres. As per the report, authorities raised the discharge volume to 48,800 cubic metres per second on Thursday. Meanwhile, hundreds of people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have been evacuated in China due to floods.

Video of Three Gorges Dam Flowing Above Danger-Mark:

The Three Gorges project is a multi-functional water-control system, consisting of a 2,309-metre-long and 185-metre-high dam, a five-tier ship lock on the north and south, and 34 turbo-generators with a combined generating capacity of 22.5 million kilowatts. In every flood season, the dam's strength comes into focus warranting the dam's officials to assure the public about its efficacy and strength. China's Massive Three Gorges Dam to Face Largest-ever Flood.

To confront the flood peak, dams in the upstream of the Yangtze River - including Wudongde, Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba dams, also managed by the Three Gorges Corp - will work together under "elaborate deployment and operation" to jointly retain the flood, the Three Gorges Corp said in a statement. The dams will sufficiently exert the flood defence function of a cascade reservoir within the basin, and are expected to ease the flood defence pressure for Southwest China's Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality, as well as the Three Gorges project, it said.

The 6,300-km-long Yangtze is the longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the world. The upper reaches of the Yangtze River have been battered by the largest floods since 1981, according to the ministry. China has a four-tier flood control emergency response system, with level I representing the most severe.

(With inputs from PTI)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 22, 2020 12:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).