The northern parts of Anhui Province have been inundated with rain since Saturday and more than 240,000 residents have been affected, local officials said.

Suzhou, Bengbu and Fuyang, all north of the Huaihe River, a flood-prone waterway flowing east through Anhui, have received up to 283 millimeters of rain and experienced floods as a result, the provincial production and disaster relief office said.

The civil affairs department of Suzhou City said that heavy and even torrential rains hit the city in recent days, coupled with strong winds. The worst hit were Sixian and Lingbi counties, which had average rainfalls of 100 mm to 150 mm, with much farmland flooded.

Nearly 2,000 rural houses were damaged or destroyed and 22,000 hectares of crops were affected in these three localities. Losses were put at 28.92 million yuan (about US$4.13 million).

Local Party and government authorities have increased their work shifts and teams of officials have been sent to measure the impact of the weather.

(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2008)