The waterway of China's longest river, the Yangtze, was closed Friday at the Three Gorges at Yichang in Hubei Province as a precaution against the season's flood peak.

The peaking floods, the most voluminous so far this year, forced the closing of the water-diversion canal and the temporary ship lock of the Three Gorges Project through which all ships must pass during construction, according to the latest reports.

The closure will affect hundreds of passenger ships, forcing authorities to shuttle thousands of passengers across the dam site with buses.

By 8:00 pm Saturday, the flood, caused by torrential rains in Sichuan Province, Chongqing Municipality and other areas upstream, is expected to crest with 46,000 cubic meters of water per second passing through the construction site of the huge Three Gorges Dam, navigation officials said.

Navigation must be limited at the dam's diversion canal as soon as floodwater hits a volume of 30,000 cubic meters, the officials said. And temporary ship lifts must be closed when water-flow reaches 45,000 cubic meters per second, they added.

Elsewhere, heavy rains over the past few days have caused floods, landslides and mudflows in Jiangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Yunnan provinces. At least 133 people have been confirmed dead.

The latest casualties push this year's flooding death toll to more than 900 based on recent official statistics and subsequent reports.

By July 8, at least 793 people were reported killed by the floods that have swept over China's 25 provinces. More than 100 million people have been affected in some way, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Early this month, rainstorms and floods killed 108 people in central China's Hunan Province, according to local officials.

Heavy rains have been hitting the province since August 5, causing severe floods and landslides, which are damaging major railways and highways, the officials said.

The disaster has affected 38 million people in Hunan and has caused some 18.4 billion yuan (US$2.24 billion) in economic loss.

The local government has mobilized military forces to help evacuate the affected people and reconstruct the roads.

Quilts, clothes and food have been delivered to many stricken areas across the country.

(China Daily August 17, 2002)