Floods threaten middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River

Photo taken on July 1, 2017 shows the flooded area in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province. At 11 a.m. Saturday, the water level of Xiangjiang River, a major river in the province, rose up to 38.37 meters at Changsha hydrological station, 2.37 meters above the alarm level. [Photo: Xinhua]

Rains has caused flooding along several tributaries of middle and lower reaches of Yangtze, China's longest river, according to the Yangtze flood control and drought relief headquarters on Saturday.

The Xiangjiang, Zishui and Yuanjiang rivers had risen, some above their warning levels on Saturday morning, according to the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission.

Photo taken on July 1, 2017 shows the flooded area in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province.[Photo: Xinhua]

The level of Dongting Lake in the middle of Yangtze surpassed the warning level of 32.5 meters at the Chenglingji hydrological station on Saturday morning. The water level of the lake is still rising, according to Hunan provincial hydrological bureau.

The level of the Xiangjiang River in the city of Changsha, capital of Hunan, stood at 38.37 meters at 11:42 a.m. on Saturday morning, well above the warning water level of 36 meters, the city's hydrological station said.

The local meteorological station forecast that more rain for Hunan in the next two days.

The Yangtze will see floods in the next 24 hours as Dongting Lake and the middle reach areas of Yangtze are hit by more heavy rain.