The flood season will soon be over, Wang Shucheng, minister of Water Resources, said in Yueyang Sunday, in comments made with regard to this year's flood season.

Wang said the most distinct characteristic of this year's flood season was the serious flooding and mud-rock flows, which affected some regions.

However, apart from the recent alarming rise in water level of the Yangtze River, the seven longest rivers in China have remained calm.

The grain crops in northern China have received more rainfall, however, this has not been sufficient to relieve the serious drought in the region, said Wang.

According to him, since the Yangtze River flooding in 1998, China has appropriated 160 billion yuan (US$19.27 billion) for water conservancy projects, apart from the investment in the Three Gorges Power Project.

Much of the money has been used in flood control, with the Yangtze River levees alone costing over 29 billion yuan (US$3.49 billion) in the past four years.

(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2002)