Major test for China's Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam in Hubei Province had its biggest test yesterday as it contended with the fastest flow of water ever recorded, at 70,000 cubic metres a second.

The worst flooding for more than a decade has claimed at least 146 lives in China since the start of the month, and the two-year-old dam – the world's largest – is being used to minimise further devastation.

The Three Gorges project was controversial because it forced 1.4 million people to be relocated.