Photo taken on July 21, 2020 shows the Liujiaxia reservoir discharging floodwater in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

China's longest river, the Yangtze River, is facing its third flood peak due to continuous torrential rains in the upper and middle streams, as water  resources authorities warn of possible new flood peaks in the near future and required the Three Gorges project to reserve enough space for higher water flows. 

The volume of water inflow that entered the reservoir has reached 50,000 cubic meters per second, according to media reports, with peak flow reaching 60,000 cubic meters per second as of Tuesday at 2 pm.

Multiple rivers in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze catchment area have exceeded the alert level by up to 2.04 meters. 

The biggest flood this year in the upper reaches of the Yangtze passed Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Monday morning, with water levels exceeding more than three meters above the alert level. 

An employee surnamed Wang from Changjiang Chongqing Waterway Bureau told the Global Times that the bureau has asked relevant departments to monitor the river closely and strengthen maintenance work dykes, bridges and constructions in key water areas. 

He said the water is expected to peak on Monday night. 

China's Ministry of Water Resources warned on Sunday that regional once-in-a-decade floods are hitting the Huaihe River, which is located about midway between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. 

E Jingping, minister of water resources, said on Sunday that relevant departments should coordinate with the Three Gorges project to impose staggered regulations on floods from the upper streams of the Yangtze and other rivers. The water level of the reservoir should not be too high so that space can be left to absorb possible big floods moving downstream, and at the same time, safety must be ensured for the middle and downstream dykes.

Wang Gengchen, a research fellow from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times that a third flood peak is still "controllable," as the Three Gorges project plays a key role in water adjustment and energy generation on the Yangtze River." The flooding in the lower Yangtze River is gradually receding, and the rain band is moving northward, which means less rainfall in southern regions.

China has entered its rainy season. Since June, continuous downpours have lashed large parts of southern China, and the waters of many rivers in the affected regions have surpassed warning levels. Northern parts of Jiangxi Province, for example, have experienced heavy downpours since July 6, with water levels rising significantly in local rivers and lakes.