The Central Meteorological Observatory forecast that heavy to torrential rains will continue to pour down in the areas between the Huaihe and Yellow River valleys, the Huaihe and Yangtze River valleys, and the Sichuan Basin this week.

Provinces like Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hubei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui as well as Chongqing Municipality will see an average rainfall of 100 to 150 millimeters.

Experts said earlier that two rain fronts will hit both the northern and southern regions of the country between June and August.

In the north, rain will mainly fall on the Yellow River Valley and areas north of it.

Since the Yellow River has not seen flooding for years and the same goes for the Huaihe River, flood prevention authorities of both rivers have issued circulars warning people in the area to be prepared for possible flooding and other concerns.

So far, China's eight provinces and regions have seen huge losses caused by floods.

Up to Monday, floods in various provinces and regions had negatively affected 44.75 million people, according to a statement from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The statement showed that floods have damaged about 2 million hectares of farmland with crops, and have caused injuries and health concerns for 12,876 residents in these areas.

The central government has allocated 6 million yuan (US$720,000), 7 million yuan (US$840,000) and 12 million yuan (US$1.4 million) to Hubei, Jiangxi and Guangxi respectively for emergency relief.

Hubei Province in central China yesterday reported that 91 counties and cities, 90.9 percent of its total, have suffered from torrential rain and storms over the past week.

The latest reported flood-related fatalities were six primary school students, who were drowned after their boat capsized on Monday in a flooded river in Tengxian County in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

(China Daily July 2, 2003)