At least ten people have been killed and 323 others injured or sickened in a thunderstorm that hit central China's Hubei Province over the past day.

Strong wind, heavy rain and hail affected 374,500 people in 11 counties and cities in Hubei since Friday, according to the disaster relief office under the provincial administration of civil affairs.

In the worst-hit Huangpo district in Wuhan, capital of Hubei, the extreme weather left seven dead and 3,000 houses damaged, forcing 1,600 people to evacuate.

In the eastern province of Anhui, water level began to retreat as of Saturday after the fourth flood crest passed the Huaihe River Friday and no more rain is expected to come in the near future.

However, water levels did not fall below danger lines at many sections of the Huaihe River on Saturday afternoon.

Local flood control authorities warned relative departments and local people about possible collapse of dikes during the water retreating period and even after the water retreats below the danger line.

In the middle and lower reaches of the Huaihe River in Jiangsu Province, 150,000 soldiers were safeguarding dikes in a sweltering heatwave. The temperature hovered around 35 degrees to 37 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

Shanghai, which has been broiled for 19 consecutive days, registered a record 39.1 degrees Celsius on Saturday. The local meteorological station issued two heat alarms on Saturday, saying such weather would continue in the next two days.

Guangdong Province has suffered from high temperatures for 18 consecutive days. The north part of Guangdong registered a record 38 degrees Celsius Saturday.

Insufficient rainfall over the past two months has caused drought in some parts of Guangdong. In July, Guangdong received 70 percent less of precipitation than the average amount of the same period of past years.

The provincial drought relief headquarters has ordered that local departments reserve rainfall and improve the management of water and electricity consumption.