China's flood control and drought relief authorities warned the country was at risk to the major seasonal flooding that had already killed 233 people and affected more than 34 million by Wednesday.

The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH) announced the major flood season had started on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the severe drought, which had caused temporary shortages of drinking water among 7.39 million people and 5.79 million large livestock, would linger in the north.

The SFDH statistics showed the drought affected more than 10.3 million hectares of farmland, worse than the average of the same period last year.

Zhang Zhitong, SFDH office vice director, said the country's major rivers were facing increasing risk of severe flooding as more rain was expected and the southeastern coastal regions were vulnerable to typhoon.

He added the summer drought would possibly occur in southern regions with the Pacific subtropical high moving northwards.

Zhang said recent downpours had mainly lashed the southern regions, pushing up river levels above warning levels and triggering floods. For example, rainfall in most of the southern coastal areas and the northeast of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region ranged between 100 mm to 300 mm in the past week.

Rain had mitigated the drought in north China since June 27, but failed to change the condition as the precipitation was not enough.

He promised the headquarters would take effective measures to protect people from flood danger during the major flood season.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2008)