The lower reaches of the river in central China's Anhui province had surpassed warning levels earlier this week, the Beijing Morning Post and Beijing Youth Daily said.

Although the water level dropped from 29.83 meters to 28.96 meters -- 0.04 meters below the warning line -- by Friday evening, rain forecasted in coming days is expected to raise levels again.

According to forecasts, the Huai River valley will see heavy rainfall in the next two to three days, the Xinhua news agency said, adding that the river's flood control situation remained "grave."

Local officials have taken flood diversion measures, including redirecting the floodwaters to areas that will suffer the least impact from flooding, the reports said.

To date, 176 million cubic meters of floodwaters have been diverted from the Wangjiaba section of the river to the Mengwa flood diversion area, and the flood crest has passed smoothly through the Wangjiaba section, Xinhua said.

Some 1,400 people living in endangered areas have been relocated and people in other areas are preparing to move to safer grounds if necessary.

The flooding this year was reported by the Beijing Morning Post to be the biggest, in terms of water level and volume of water, in 12 years.

No casualties have been reported, but the economic loss is estimated to reach 380 million yuan (45.7 million US dollars), the Beijing Youth Daily said.

Residents will receive economic assistance from the government for the losses they suffer, including damage to their crops, reports said.

The Huai River regularly causes flooding in the summer months. Recent reports said officials were planning to dig a channel for the river, which flows into a lake, to allow it to flow into the sea to ease flooding.

Cheng Dianlong, vice director of the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, said his office has issued an urgent advisory to all provinces along the river urging close monitoring of the flood situation, Xinhua said.

He also called for more accurate weather forecasts, more effective flood control measures and more frequent patrols on the river's embankments.

The country's other major rivers are all below their flood warning lines, except for the Xijiang River, whose water level is at the warning level, Xinhua said. The river runs through Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in southern China.

China suffers from flooding each summer. In 2002, more than 1,500 people died in floods, most of them during the summer.

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