The swollen Huaihe River began to fall below danger levels on Thursday, bringing relief to hundreds of thousands of people evacuated from the projected path of the floodwaters.

The level at Runheji, a key hydrological station on the river's middle reaches, fell to 24.29 meters at 1:40 AM on Thursday, just below the danger line of 24.3 meters, according to the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

The office said this indicated the whole trunk stream had fallen to normal levels. The level at Wangjiaba, the major hydrological station on the upper reaches, has been below the alarm level since July 28.

The Huaihe River had been over the warning line for 31 days since July 3 when the level at Wangjiaba first passed the warning level, said Cheng Dianlong, deputy chief of the office.

Four flood crests passed Wangjiaba during the rainy season this year, with the highest at 29.59 meters on July 11.

Almost half a million people were evacuated from the projected path of the floodwaters of the Huaihe River, when the worst flooding since 1954 was predicted.

Meteorologists forecast rains might hit vast areas along the river again and two to three tropical storms or typhoons were likely to sweep China's coastal areas in August. The Huaihe might rise again, said Cheng.

The Huaihe, one of China's most flood-prone rivers, runs between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, running through Henan Province in central China and Anhui and Jiangsu provinces before entering the Yangtze River via Hongze Lake.

No casualties were reported from this year's Huaihe River floods, the second worst since 1954 after the 1991 flooding that claimed 572 lives.

(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2007)