A flood and geological disaster warning is in effect for the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River valleys, due to the heavy to torrential rains forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.

The affected areas include Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Henan and Guizhou provinces.

They should be prepared for mud-rock flows and landslides, said the Central Meteorological Station.

Some of the areas will see storms, hurricanes or hail due to the interaction of strong, warm air flows from the southwest and cold air currents.

Severe rainstorms pounding the northern part of Jiangxi Province yesterday have caused rivers to swell and prompted provincial authorities to implement flood-prevention measures.

The storms, which have seriously affected several areas and blocked several roads, have thus far claimed no lives.

Jiangxi Governor Huang Zhiquan said that the province has entered a crucial period of this year's anti-flood campaign. Severe storms have been pounding Jiangxi and neighboring provinces for several days.

One woman drowned and another three went missing on Tuesday afternoon when their coach was swept into a river by surging flood waters in the city of Lishui in Jinyun County, Zhejiang Province.

The coach, carrying 26 passengers, was swept into the river at about 4:30 pm.

The area had been pounded by torrential rains for 18 consecutive hours before the accident, with most roads completely underwater.

Rescuers responded immediately and have thus far pulled 22 people from the water. Rescue efforts are ongoing.

(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2003)