Continuing heavy rain falling in the eastern Huai valley is making the fight against flooding in the region even more difficult as levels of this tributary of the Yangtze River continue to rise, the reports said.

A flood surge was moving Wednesday towards Hongze lake, where water levels already exceed warning levels by 58 centimeters (two feet). The levels already exceed those recorded in 1991 when the area suffered its most serious flooding to date.

More than 68,000 people were evacuated from areas nearby the lake in addition to approximately 380,000 which have already been moved along the Huai river in Anhui province alone.

Meanwhile in the south of the province, a particularly violent tornado in the district of Wuwei killed 16 people and injured 162 more, including 57 who have been hospitalised with serious injuries, according to the Xinhua news agency.

The twister also destroyed 715 homes and nearly 1,800 people affected have been moved to "safe places" and provided with tents and food, Xinhua said.

Violent storms across much of China killed four people in northern Xian city on Monday, while rain and hail over the weekend and Monday killed seven people in northwestern Gansu where thousands of hectares of crops have also been destroyed.

In the eastern city on Nanjing the heavy rain contributed to the collapse of the outer wall of the 600-year-old ancient city. In the southwest region of Chongqing, meanwhile, land and mudslides have killed 28 people since the end of June and four million people have been affected by the bad weather.

TERRA.WIRE