The Yangtze River areas will receive more rain this year than last year and will be under threat in the coming June-August flood season.

Cloudy and rainy weather has lingered at the middle and lower reaches of the river since the beginning of spring, and several hydrological stations have reported record high levels of water, said Cai Qihua, director of the Yangtze River Water Resources Committee.

He made the remarks at a meeting on flood control of the Yangtze River Sunday in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province.

The Yangtze River, historically rampant with flooding, was spared slightly last year. But typhoons, mud-rock flows and landslides still occurred in some flooded areas.

The disasters last year affected 76.3 million people in 782 counties and cities, causing about 30 billion yuan (US$3.61 billion) in losses, according to the committee.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2005)