Floodwaters caused by continuous rains have damaged levees on the Yellow River and altered the course of the river by more than 100 meters in east China, say flood control authorities.

The runoff in the section in Shandong Province was 3,600 cubic meters per second on Monday.

Rocks had been flushed out from the bases of seven levees in Yuncheng county since Thursday and the levees had collapsed in places, said an official with the Shandong bureau of Yellow River Conservancy Committee.

Local officials and residents had repaired the damaged levees with the help of experts from the Yellow River flood control headquarters, the official said.

The official said the Yellow River flood in the Shandong section would remain dangerous for the next few days.

Meanwhile, people in Juancheng county demolished a floating bridge over the Yellow River because it was obstructing floodwaters, causing a section of watercourse to move more than 100 meters northward.

In Juancheng, residents have built a cofferdam to prevent the course from further changes.

More than 1,000 people were still monitoring the embankments in Juancheng.

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2007)