Continuous torrential rains along the Huaihe River triggered floods in east China's Anhui Province.

As of 8:00 AM Monday, the water level of the Xixian County Hydrologic Station, on the mainstream of the Huaihe River, reached 42.92 meters, 1.42 meters above the warning line. The water level of the Wangjiaba Station rose to 27.63 meters, 0.13 meter higher the warning line.

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. The areas along the river are prone to frequent floods and droughts in history.

Prolonged torrential rains have slashed the Huaihe River over the past week since July 4. The precipitation exceeded 100 millimeters on the major drainage areas of the river.

The rainfall of its tributaries, including the mid reaches of Hongru River, and mid and low reaches of the Shaying and Guohe rivers surpassed 300 mm and it topped the maximum of 500 mm in the Dam of Mengcheng County.

The source with the provincial water resource department said Monday that 194,000 hectares of cropland in Anhui's 20 counties were inundated

The torrential rains also dilapidated a total of 493 houses, causing a direct loss of 129 million yuan (US$15.6 million).

Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu on Sunday urged local governments to adopt substantial measures to control the surging floods in the Huaihe River.

Moreover, he called on the relevant departments to work hard to check and reinforce dykes and dams, prepare anti-flood materials and cope with possible dangers in time, and the meteorologists to provide accurate and timely information to help make scientific flood-control decisions.

The State Flood Control and the Drought Relief Headquarters have also sent task forces to Anhui Province, to help with the flood control and disaster relief work.

(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2005)