The thirsty northwest China province of Gansu has reported torrential rain since Wednesday and the local meteorological station predicts the rain will continue for a couple of days. 

The rain, the heaviest since the province entered the flood season on June 1, has left one person dead and another one injured. It also toppled several hundred houses and drowned cropland, reservoirs and road in some counties, said a report released by the provincial flood control headquarters on Saturday.

The outlying Kangle county, one of the worst affected, received137 millimeters of rain in the 24 hours starting from Wednesday night, the report said.

At 3:36 am on Thursday, the peak water flow measured at 1,280 cubic meters per second at Guocheng hydrological station on Zuli River, a tributary of the Yellow River, the biggest flood in 50 years.

The provincial meteorological station has warned that the disastrous rain will continue for a couple of days, and flood control departments across the province have been told to keep close watch at reservoirs and riverbanks.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2005)