The reporter learned from the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources (hereinafter referred to as the "Yangtze River Commission") that the Yangtze River Basin will enter the critical flood control period of "July and August" on July 16. The Yangtze River Commission issued a dispatch order, scheduling the Three Gorges Reservoir to open one additional flood discharge outlet at 13:00, 14:00, and 19:00 on July 14 respectively, increasing the outflow to 43,000 cubic meters per second. Currently, 9 outlets have been opened for flood discharge to accelerate the drawdown of the reservoir.

It is reported that historically, most basin-wide major floods in the Yangtze River have occurred during this period. Since the founding of New China, among the three basin-wide major floods in the Yangtze River in 1954, 1998, and 2020, the maximum flow at the Three Gorges dam site all occurred in early to mid-August, and the highest water level at Hankou Station all occurred from mid-July to mid-August.

This year, since the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River entered the plum rain season on June 18, the No. 1 and No. 2 floods of the Yangtze River in 2024 have followed one after another. To effectively respond to the No. 2 flood, avoid overlapping with the No. 1 flood, and alleviate the flood control pressure in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and other provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, according to the deployment of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Yangtze River Commission precisely dispatched the Three Gorges Reservoir to retain floodwater and reduce peak flows, with the coordinated support of controlling reservoirs on the main and tributary streams of the upper Yangtze River, reducing the peak inflow of 55,000 cubic meters per second to a discharge of 37,000 cubic meters per second, achieving a peak reduction rate of 32%, avoiding water levels exceeding the warning level in the approximately 700-kilometer river section from Yichang to Wuhan in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and achieving the previous dispatch objectives.

At 22:00 on July 14, the water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir reached 166.04 meters, significantly higher than the same period in normal years. According to rolling forecasts, in the next 10 days, the Jialing River, Min River and other basins in the upper Yangtze River will experience sustained heavy rainfall processes, and the extended forecast period will also have rainfall processes, with great uncertainty in flood situation development. If the current reservoir water level is maintained and another major flood occurs in the upper Yangtze River, the land in the reservoir area and the tail of the reservoir may be temporarily inundated by floodwater after the Three Gorges Reservoir retains the flood, and the Three Gorges Reservoir will face considerable flood control pressure.

On the morning and evening of July 14, Liu Dongshun, Executive Deputy Commander of the Yangtze River Flood Control Headquarters and Director of the Yangtze River Commission, presided over two flood control consultations to assess the drought and flood trends during the critical flood control period of "July and August." The consultation decided that the current basin flood control dispatch should immediately shift to the "critical flood control period" dispatch mode, with the goal of defending against major floods and ensuring flood control safety in the upper and lower reaches of the basin, and systematically, scientifically, safely and precisely dispatch the controlling reservoir groups in the basin. It is necessary to seize the opportunity of currently low rainfall in the middle and lower reaches, fully utilize the discharge capacity of the downstream river channel, accelerate the lowering of the Three Gorges Reservoir water level to 160 meters or below, so that the Three Gorges Reservoir can free up sufficient flood control storage capacity and prepare for responding to major floods in the upper Yangtze River during the critical flood control period of "July and August." It is necessary to jointly dispatch the cascade reservoirs on the Jinsha River, Yalong River, Jialing River, Min River and Wu River to retain and store water, reduce the inflow flood volume of the Three Gorges Reservoir, and dispatch the Qingjiang cascade and Dongting Lake water system reservoirs for coordination, so as to control the water level at Lianhuatang Station during the drawdown period to not exceed the highest water level during the No. 1 flood of the Yangtze River, and try to avoid the water level at Shashi Station exceeding the warning level. It is necessary to strengthen rolling analysis and assessment, and dynamically optimize and adjust the dispatch plan according to rainfall and water regime forecasts and flood control situation.

According to the consultation opinions, the Yangtze River Commission issued a dispatch order, scheduling the Three Gorges Reservoir to open one additional flood discharge outlet at 13:00, 14:00, and 19:00 on July 14 respectively to increase the outflow; and to continue coordinated dispatch of the middle Jinsha River cascade, Ertan on the Yalong River, lower Jinsha River cascade, Pubugou on the Dadu River, Zipingpu on the Min River, Tingzikou on the Jialing River and other reservoirs for coordination, sharing the flood control pressure of the upper Yangtze River.

The consultation emphasized that targeted "call-and-response" reminders for pre-disaster warnings should be made for flash floods, mountain torrents and other disasters that may be triggered by local extreme heavy rainfall, and safety management for flood passage of small and medium-sized reservoirs in the basin, especially dangerous reservoirs, should be strengthened; provinces along the river should continue to strengthen patrol and defense of the main dikes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and important polder dikes of the two lakes under prolonged high water levels.