The water level of the Songhua River tributaries in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province are rising, according to local hydrology and water resources survey bureaus.

As of 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, the water level at the Harbin City Hydrology Station had climbed to 111.23 meters, 1.16 meters above the record low recorded on June 12.

Owing to sustained dry weather since April, the normally 1,000-meter-wide breadth of the Songhua River has been reduced to only about 300 meters, curtailing shipping services.

With the onset of the flood season in late June, however, the water levels of all the tributaries of the Songhua and Neijiang rivers have begun to rise.

In some small and medium-sized tributaries, flood crests have even emerged, and Huma county and a few individual counties or cities, have been affected by flooding to varying extent.

Yang Guangyun, a hydrology and water resources expert with the bureau, said that more rainfall are expected during this month and that the water level at Harbin City Hydrology Station may swell quickly during the next 20 days.

Measuring 1,000 kilometers, the Songhua River has the third largest river valley and annual runoff in China.

(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2003)