The month-long flooding of the Huaihe River
has receded below the warning mark but new floods occurred in
northeast China, according to the State Flood Control and Drought
Relief Headquarters.
Information provided by the Ministry of Water Resources showed
that as of 8 a.m. Monday, the water level at Wangjiaba hydrological
station at the upper reaches of the Huaihe River was 26.49 meter,
0.01 meter lower than the warning mark.
The water level at the Huainan hydrological station on the
middle reaches of the Huaihe River dropped to 22.92 meters, 0.08
meters lower than the warning mark.
But a branch of the Nenjiang River, a major river in northeast
China, began to flood on Sunday due to continuous rainfall.
As of 4 pm Sunday, the water level at Nianzishan hydrological
station on the Yalu River reached 215.71 meters, 0.31 meters higher
than the warning mark. Meanwhile, the water level of the mainstream
of the Nenjiang River was also close to alarm level.
While north China was battered by storms and floods, some areas
in the country's normally flood-prone southern part have been
struck by droughts of varying intensity. Parts of Hunan and Fujian
provinces are suffering severe droughts.
A senior official with the State Flood Control and Drought
Relief Headquarters on Monday said attention should not only be
paid to flooding rivers, but also to the drought areas.
(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2003)