China's flood control authorities said Sunday water levels on the Yalu River in northeast China at the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had dropped below their warning levels.

An aerial photo shows houses are inundated in flood waters in Dandong, northeast China's Liaoning province on August 22, 2010.

By 9:10 p.m. Saturday, the water level at a station in Dandong City had risen 2.35 meters above the warning level, the second highest level since records began being kept in 1934, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH) said.

By 4 p.m. Sunday, the downpours that began Thursday in northeastern China's Liaoning Province had left four people dead, one missing and 48 Dandong townships flooded, local flood control authorities said.

Further rain of up to 250 millimeters will hit the city over the next 24 hours, making the flood control work more difficult, weather authorities forecast Sunday morning.

Separately, torrential rains have also left parts of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the tributaries of other major rivers in northeast China near their respective warning levels.