The Chinese government on Wednesday issued an alert and urged stepped-up efforts to fight against the expected worst flooding in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River since August 2004.

Flooding has been caused by continuous heavy rainfalls in the region.

Maximum inflow into the Three Gorges Dam would be 56,000 cubic meters a second, the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH) warned on Wednesday.

The Three Gorges Dam is capable of reducing flood waters by between 27,000 and 33,000 cubic meters a second.

The SFDH ordered the Danjiangkou Dam, located at the junction of two main tributaries of the Yangtze River, Hanjiang River and Danjiang River, to open one of its sluices Wednesday for the first time this year to ease flooding.

Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei said a critical stage fighting the floods had been reached, and called on governments in Sichuan, Hubei and Shaanxi provinces and Chongqing Municipality to continue their efforts to stem rising waters.

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2009)