The year's biggest flood peak yesterday began to pass the Jiujiang section of the Yangtze River in East China's Jiangxi Province at a rate of about 70,000 cubic meters per second.

The peak water level reached 20.75 meters - the year's highest and 1 meter to 1.25 meters above the warning level in different areas - but no emergencies were reported along Jiujiang's 190-kilometre (118 miles) long levees of the swelling Yangtze and major embankments around Poyang Lake, according to local officials.

Work crews spotted and fixed small leaks, but no evacuation was planned, they said.

More than 11,000 workers have been kept on high alert and they prepared for any potential overflow. There were 1,847 organized emergency squads and more than 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) worth of concrete, clay and sandbags on standby for possible emergencies.

Liu Zhengmin, head of the Jiangxi Provincial Water Bureau, told reporters: "Instead of encouraging the evacuation of almost all people in Jiujiang to guard against such a flood crest as in the past, locals feel much safer this year after the large-scale consolidation of the Yangtze levees since 1998."

In August 1998, a 60-metre-long section of levees of the Yangtze broke in Jiujiang, putting parts of the city at great risk.

Wang Shucheng, minister of water resources, said: "This year's flood calamity is relatively serious." He added: "Nationwide, more than 1,300 people have already died in floods."

Upstream from Jiujiang, floodwaters on the huge Dongting Lake in Hunan Province were receding but were still 6 centimeters above the danger line.

Although the main danger had passed upstream of the Hunan Province lake, including Hubei Province's capital Wuhan, some 140,000 flood-control workers were still on high alert, ready to immediately deal with trouble spots to prevent any damage.

In a warning against complacency, a local expert said: "Even though the Yangtze is gradually receding, the prolonged pressure on the soaked dykes could still cause them to collapse in some places."

As the water levels on the Yangtze River continue to fall upstream, the level is climbing to warning levels downstream in Anhui and Jiangsu provinces.

Earlier yesterday, water was about 60 centimeters above the danger level in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu, but local officials said there was no danger of flooding.

The surging flood peak, which passed through Central China's Hubei Province, is predicted to reach Anhui today and approach Jiangsu soon.

Heavy rain and storms are forecast in some areas and it is estimated that the water levels will reach 1 meter above the warning level by Saturday.

Flood-control authorities in Anhui and Jiangsu have issued emergency circulars, urging all the relevant departments to remain on high alert and prepare to battle the potential floods.

(China Daily August 29, 2002)