Water gushes out of 21 sluice gates at the Three Gorges Dam yesterday in Yichang, Hubei Province. Heavy rain in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River has caused water levels to rise. — Xinhua

Torrential rain along the Huaihe River triggered floods in Anhui Province, inundating 194,000 hectares of cropland and damaging 493 houses, said a source with the provincial water resource department yesterday.
The floods caused a direct loss of about 129 million yuan (US$15.6 million).
The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters sent task forces to Anhui and said the situation is critical.
As of 8am yesterday, the water level of the Xixian County Hydrologic Station on the Huaihe reached 42.92 meters, 1.42 meters above the warning line.
The water level of the Wangjiaba Station rose to 27.63 meters, 0.13 meters higher than the warning line.
The Huaihe cuts between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, running through Henan and Jiangsu provinces, aside from Anhui.
The history of the region is filled with both floods and droughts.
Prolonged torrential rain lashed the Huaihe River since July 4. Precipitation exceeded 100 millimeters in the major drainage areas of the river. The rainfall of its tributaries, including the middle reaches of the Hongru River, and the middle and low reaches of the Shaying and Guohe rivers surpassed 300 millimeters. Rainfall topped 500mm in the Mengcheng County dam.
Vice Premier Hui Liangyu yesterday urged governments in Anhui to adopt substantial measures to control the surging floods.
Moreover, he called on departments to work hard to check and reinforce dikes and dams, as well as prepare anti-flood materials.
He also urged meteorologists to provide accurate and timely information to help make better flood-control decisions.
The reservoirs along the rivers should discharge water scientifically. Hui also said people in areas considered dangerous should be evacuated.