DFO 2003-131

Flooding: 06/01/03 - ongoing

Central China - Yangtze River

Hubei and Sichuan Provinces - Filling the Three Gorges Reservior

Detailed Locations:
Central China - Hubei and Sichuan Provinces
Yichang, Sandouping - Three Gorges Dam filling reservoir from Yichang to Fengdu in Chongqing Municipality

Rivers:
Yangtze

Comments:
The reservoir officially started storing water on June 1. The water level behind the dam has reached 135 meters as of June 10. When the reservoir is full the water level is expected to reach 175 meters behind the dam, creating a 632 sq km reservoir that will flood two cities, 11 counties, 116 towns and the gorges of Qutang, Wuxia and Xiling. Construction on the worlds largest dam began in 1993 and has cost over $22 billion. 1.3 million people have been forcibly relocated by the Chinese government.
Dead: Displaced: 1,300,000 Damages: Affected Region ( sq km): 9,130 Severity Class* : na Flood Magnitude**: na

MODIS flood inundation limit file names***:
20031990545Yan3Gorg131Ma2.37
ASTER image from July 17, 2000 showing the Xiling Gorge area. Red lines indicate inundation level of the Three Gorges Reservior as of July 18, 2003.

 

Map preparation and image analysis: Elaine Anderson

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