Information provided by the Ministry of Water Resources showed that as of 8 a.m. Monday, the water level at Wangjiaba hydrological station at the upper reaches of the Huaihe River was 26.49 meter, 0.01 meter lower than the warning mark.

The water level at the Huainan hydrological station on the middle reaches of the Huaihe River dropped to 22.92 meters, 0.08 meters lower than the warning mark.

But a branch of the Nenjiang River, a major river in northeast China, began to flood on Sunday due to continuous rainfall.

As of 4 pm Sunday, the water level at Nianzishan hydrological station on the Yalu River reached 215.71 meters, 0.31 meters higher than the warning mark. Meanwhile, the water level of the mainstream of the Nenjiang River was also close to alarm level.

While north China was battered by storms and floods, some areas in the country's normally flood-prone southern part have been struck by droughts of varying intensity. Parts of Hunan and Fujian provinces are suffering severe droughts.

A senior official with the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Monday said attention should not only be paid to flooding rivers, but also to the drought areas.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2003)