Xiaonanhai Dam upstream from the Three Gorges Dam. Weng Lida, a former director of the water resources bureau at the Yangtze River Commission, said that senior China Three Gorges executives had succumbed to pressure from the Chongqing authorities. According to the "South China Morning Post", Chongqing's success in overcoming all major obstacles to the dam's construction is attributed to the personal intervention of Bo. The project was strongly opposed by environmentalists, who saw it as a "politically motivated decision". It was highly controversial due to the environmental impact, the high cost-benefit ratio, as well as the secretive decision-making process under Bo. A
Three Gorges Dam flood. In 1954, the river flooded , killing 33,169 people and forcing 18,884,000 people to move. The flood covered Wuhan, a city of eight million people, for over three months, and the Jingguang Railway was out of service for more than 100 days. The 1954 flood carried of water. The dam could only divert the water above Chenglingji, leaving to be diverted. Also, the dam cannot protect against some of the large tributaries downstream, including the Xiang, Zishui, Yuanshui, Lishui, Hanshui, and the Gan. In 1998, a flood in the same area caused billions of dollars in damage; of farm