Water levels peak at China's Three Gorges Dam
Heavy rains also closed Beijing's airport, stranding almost 10,000 passengers as nearly every departing flight was cancelled Monday night, Xinhua News Agency said.
Gates on the huge Three Gorges Dam in central Hubei province were opened to allow water to flow out, Xinhua said, but heavy rains meant inflows would be greater with another peak expected.
"The Three Gorges Dam has opened 18 sluices and the water level in the reservoir will continue to rise," a worker in the dam's operation department was quoted saying.
"The safety of the dam will be tested."
Two-way traffic at the Three Gorges ship lock was halted Monday because of the water levels.
The Three Gorges dam, the world's biggest hydropower project, was promoted by the government as a way to control devastating flooding on the Yangtze River and as a clean power source.
Besides the 27 killed, Xinhua also said 24 were missing after more rainstorms hit numerous parts of China. That included 16 dead and 14 missing in northwestern Shaanxi province after downpours hit the central and southern areas of the province, it said.
The other deaths were in the Inner Mongolia region and in Hubei, Guizhou, Shanxi and Anhui provinces.
The 27 deaths come after Xinhua reported floods, landslides and mud flows triggered by torrential rains had killed 652 people in China so far this year.
Related News

Renewable power surpasses fossil fuels for first time in Europe
LONDON - Renewable power for the first time contributed a bigger share in the European generation mix than fossil fuels as the fallout from the pandemic cut energy demand.
About 40 percent of the electricity in the first half in the 27 EU countries came from renewable sources, compared with 34 percent from plants burning fossil fuels, according to environmental group Ember in London. As a result, carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector fell 23 percent.
The rise is significant and encouraging for law makers as Europe prepares to spend billions of euros to recover from the virus and set the…