国内英语新闻:Flood peak safely passes China's Three Gorges Dam, shipping service still halted

It added that the water level was likely to top 160 meters later on Tuesday.

The water flow is expected to fall to 45,000 cubic meters per second on Wednesday and 35,000 cubic meters per second on Thursday.

Before the flow subsided, the Three Gorges Dam would hold back 8 billion cubic meters of water in total, the statement said.

The dam has slowed the flow of about 15 billion cubic meters of water in the previous four flood peaks since mid June, it said.

Torrential rains battered the upper reaches of the Yangtze last week, with rainfall being held in the catch basins of the Minjiang, Tuojiang and Jialing rivers, three Yangtze tributaries.

Due to heavy rains this summer, shipping through the Three Gorges Dam was suspended twice in July when water flow peaked at 56,000 and 48,500 cubic meters per second, respectively.

The Three Gorges Project is a multi-functional water control system built on the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze. With a 2,309-meter long dam, a five-tier ship lock system and 26 hydropower turbo-generators, its key roles include flood control, power generation, shipping and water supply.