Heavy rain has affected more than 7 million people along the
Huaihe River in east China's Anhui Province and caused economic losses of 3
billion yuan (about US$395 million), the provincial flood control
and drought relief headquarters said on Thursday.
Rainfall has averaged about 100 millimeters along the Huaihe
River in the past week, and in some areas, it has exceeded 230
millimeters, according to the headquarters.
About 667,000 hectares of cropland have been submerged and the
relentless rainfall has caused the water in the Huaihe River,
China's third longest waterway, to creep above the danger
level.
The local authorities have made sluices to let the water flow
into the buffer areas to prevent serious flooding.
Forecasters predict another round of heavy downpours in the area
over the next four days.
Statistics from the state flood control and drought relief
headquarters show over the past weeks that floods have caused 233
deaths and destroyed 118,500 houses in 18 areas, while drought in
the north has left nearly 7.4 million people short of drinking
water.
The Huaihe River cuts across China between the Yellow River and
the Yangtze River, running through Henan Province in central China and east
China's Anhui and Jiangsu provinces.
(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2007)