Continuous rain upstream in late June caused a sharp increase in the amount of water in the reservoir, with the water flowing into it hitting as high as 36,300 cubic meters per second.

The reservoir’s water level has been allowed to fluctuate between 143.9 and 145 meters during the flood season this year, according to the China Three Gorges Corporation.

The Three Gorges project on the Yangtze River, China’s longest, has been designed to prevent floods as well as generate electricity.