Ferocious flooding along the Huaihe River had destroyed 2.25 million hectares of farmland and 71,000 houses by yesterday, causing a combined economic loss of 12 billion yuan (about US$ 1.6 billion).

More than 20.42 million people have been directly affected, according to the latest figures from the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

The damage is so far lower than that in the floods of 1991 and 2003 but the office has warned of further severe flooding as heavy rainfall is expected over the next three days along the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River Valley, which includes Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei and Guizhou.

Cheng Dianlong, deputy director of the office, said that another peak in the water level was expected to be recorded at Wangjiaba, a key hydrological station along the Huaihe River, but that it should not surpass the previous high set a few days ago.

Wangjiaba, near Fuyang of east China's Anhui Province, registered a water level of 28.78 meters at noon, up 52 centimeters from a day earlier and 1.28 meters higher than the danger line of 27.50 meters.

The headquarters have urged the Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu authorities to remain high alert. Nearly 380,000 people, including People's Liberation Army soldiers, have been drafted in to assist with flood-relief efforts.

As more rainfalls are expected in the upcoming three days, the headquarters warned that a much severer flood was just around the corner.