Severe flood warning for Yangtze River

China's flood control authority is warning of possible heavy flooding in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River this year as the basin areas are set to receive more precipitation for the upcoming rainy season.

Liu Yaming, director of the Changjiang Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources, said the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have already been hit by several rounds of torrential rain this year.

Forecasts by the China Meteorological Administration said that the precipitation received in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is 20 percent more than average, while the water level of the river in its middle and lower reaches is 2.5 meters higher than normal.