Since August 25, heavy rains in upstream tributaries of Yellow River, including the Wei and the Jing, brought massive floodwaters into the Yellow River. On August 26,
Sanmenxia Dam, upstream of the Xiaolangdi dam, was forced to release floodwaters.

In order to relieve the pressure from flooding in downstream areas, the Xiaolangdi dam closed its gates to store floodwaters for the past month and its water level has risen to 241m.

This height is 6m higher than the alert level in August. The dam management authority ordered the gates be opened, but the decision was postponed after taking the whole river basin into consideration. The spokesperson from the hydropower station said the dam is facing shutdown because the sediment from upstream Yellow River is too much.The dam owner yesterday submitted a request to shut down the power generators, in order to ensure the safety of machines.