Continuous torrential rains have caused more than half of the large- and medium-sized reservoirs to overflow in east China's Shandong Province, local authorities said on Sunday.

The province saw an average rainfall of 532 mm during this year's flood season, or 17 percent higher than normal, according to the Shandong provincial hydrology and water resources bureau.

As of 6:00 AM on Sunday, the province's 39 large- and medium-sized reservoirs had stored close to 4.2 billion cubic meters of water, or about 1.4 billion cubic meters more than that for the same period in previous years, and 24 of the reservoirs have overflowed, a bureau spokesman said, providing no details about whether residents would be affected or not.

Heavy rains have also made the rivers swollen in Shandong and damaged levees and bridges, the spokesman said.

China has suffered from abnormal and extreme weather which led to fatal floods, landslides and lingering drought in a number of provinces this year. The disasters left 1,279 people dead and 239 others missing in the first seven months, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2007)