China's Three Gorges Dam on the swollen Yangtze River is experiencing another test as flood flows peaking at 56, 000 cubic meters per second, the greatest peak flood of the year, arrived at the dam at 8 a.m. Wednesday, engineers said.

The dam buffered the flood by discharging water at a rate of 40,000 cubic meters per second, holding up 16,000 cubic meters in a second, they said.

The water level of the reservoir behind the dam rose to 158 meters at 8 a.m. Wednesday, about 17 meters under its maximum capacity of 175 meters.

Continuous downpours in weeks boosted the water levels of the upper reaches of the Yangtze.

The flow on the Yangtze's upper reaches topped 70,000 cubic meters a second on July 20, the highest level since the dam was completed last year and 20,000 cubic meters more than the flow during the 1998 floods that killed 4,150 people.

Vessels' transit through Three Gorges Dam suspended again as second flood approaches

YICHANG, Hubei, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Vessels' transit through the Yangtze River's Three Gorges Dam has been suspended for the second time this month as engineers at the dam brace for the second flood waters of the year to hit.

The water flow rate through the dam will peak at 56,000 cubic meters per second on Wednesday, said a Three Gorges Corporation official. Full story

Flood waters are sluiced with the water outflux monitored at 40,000 cubic meters per second at Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, July 20, 2010.  (Xinhua/Xia Lin)

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