A new wave of flooding on the Weihe River is likely to pass through Huaxian county in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Monday, according to the official forecast released on Saturday.  

The Shaanxi Meteorological Station forecast that around 5:00 p.m. on Sept. 8, the flood crest will arrive at Huaxian county, which has already been seriously hit by floods during the previous days. The water flow could possibly reach 2,500 cubic meters per second.

The weather forecast also calls for rainy days in most parts of the province and storms in the eastern part next week.

The past week has seen the largest flooding in 20 years on the Weihe River, a major branch of the Yellow River. More than 100 villages and more 66,700 hectares of fields were submerged and 250,000 people were affected.

Local relief teams, as well as military troops, were sent to the embankment to repair breaches and bursts. Medical staff have also been stationed at the affected areas to prevent the outbreak of any epidemics.

(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2003)