July 21, 2003	Monday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 20, 1424

BEIJING, July 20: Waters in China’s largest river, the Yangtze, and in its major tributary the Huai River, remained above warning levels at the weekend as a violent storm killed at least two people in Beijing, it was reported Sunday.

The swollen Huai River in the country’s east, which has experienced its worst flooding in more than a decade, hovered above the 67-centimeter warning level around Hongze lake on Saturday, China News Service reported.

More than 1.34 million people have been called out to monitor or reinforce the dykes in the valley of the Yangtze tributary, where more than 1.3 million residents had no choice but to flee their waterlogged homes.

Central China’s Dongting and Poyang lakes, the two natural reservoirs for the Yangtze, were cresting above the warning levels of 33 and 68 centimeters respectively.

A state of emergency was declared in Hubei province, which sent work teams out to console the flood refugees and counsel local authorities in their efforts to beat back the waters, the local Chutian Jinbao reported.

Meanwhile in Beijing, a violent storm uprooted dozens of trees and two people clinging to a metal guardrail were fatally struck by lightning. Heavy rains buffeted the capital for about 15 minutes, bringing with them gale force nine winds, the Beijing Star Daily reported.—AFP