Water levels of the lower Huaihe and Yangtze rivers still remained above the warning lines Saturday.

By 7:00 p.m., the water level at Jiangba hydrologic station on Hongze Lake in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River was recorded at 14.18 meters, down 0.07 meters from 8:00 a.m. Friday, but still 0.68 meters above the warning line.

As the water level of Hongze Lake has gradually dropped, Yangzhou and Huai'an cities of Jiangsu Province have started to organize the return of evacuees.

The water level of the lower Yangtze in Jiangsu Province remained above the warning line, partly because of the spring tide. In Nanjing, the highest water level Saturday morning was recorded at 9.11 meters, 0.61 meters above the warning line, according to the headquarters.

Water pressure on the two rivers is expected to increase as heavy rainfall is expected on Saturday evening and Sunday.

Heavy rainfall predicted

Huaihe River valleys and the upper reaches of the Yangtze will experience heavy rainfall in the next two days, according to the latest weather forecast of China's Central Meteorological Station.

From Saturday evening to Sunday, northern Guizhou, northern and eastern Chongqing, northwestern Hunan, most areas of Hubei and the central and southern parts of Henan will experience moderate to heavy rains. Some of these areas may experience major rainstorms.

The rain belt will move eastward on Sunday, and bring heavy to torrential rains to southern Henan, the central and northern parts of Anhui and central and northern parts of Jiangsu from Monday to Tuesday.

According to the forecast, north China will experience showers for a couple of days starting from Saturday evening.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2003)