The first flood crest in five years in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, the second largest in China, struck Thursday.

The flow at Longmen hydrological station in central China's Henan Province was recorded at 7,230 cubic meters per second at 1:18 pm..

The flood wave, the first in this stretch of the river since 1998, was named the No. 1 Flood Wave of 2003 by the Yellow River Flood Control Headquarters.

Wang Zhenyu, deputy director of the office for flood control office under the Yellow River Water Conservancy Committee, noted that the crest was caused by moderate to heavy rainfall in upstream areas Tuesday.

No. 1 Flood Wave, considered relatively small at about 300 million cubic meters in total water volume, would reach Xiaolangdi Reservoir by the evening of Aug. 1, Wang said.

Meanwhile, the Huaihe River water level has been ebbing gradually in the middle reaches. However, experts with the Huaihe River Flood Control Headquarters said Thursday that it would take three more days to drop below the flood warning line along the full length of this section.

The Huaihe River Flood Control Headquarters warned that after long periods of saturation, dikes were still at risk in spite of falling water levels, and vigilance must be maintained.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2003)