Heavy rains will continue in most parts of the country in the next ten days, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) forecast on Sunday.

Rainfalls would fall in Huaihe River area, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Sichuan Basin and Yungui Plateau, said CMA.

In the following three days, torrential rains, temporary thunderstorm and hails are expected in the eastern part of northwest China, Sichuan Basin, northeastern Inner Mongolia and southern Gansu.

By Friday, flooding has killed 403 people and left 105 others missing, and 3.17 million people had been relocated as the rainy season coupled with ferocious flood continues to batter central and southern China.

In central China's Henan and Hubei provinces, continuous rainstorms have affected nearly 10 million people, said the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Sunday.

On Saturday, residents along the Huaihe River have been urged to gear up for their second tough combat against floods in a week as receding floods in some branches of the river started rising again after torrential rain. 

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2007)