Worst flood in decade causes havoc in NE China(2)

TESTS AHEAD

The floods have not yet ended as Heilongjiang Province, which neighbors Russia, has been on high alert with several major rivers swelling above warning levels.

The stretch of the Heilong River in Jiameng County exceeded its record historical levels on Tuesday, putting pressure on flood control efforts, according to the Heilongjiang Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Floods have left 11 dead and three missing in Heilongjiang, with more than 140,000 people displaced.

The Heilong River, known in Russia as the Amur River, runs along the Sino-Russian border. The river's water level reached 100.56 meters in Jiameng, surpassing the record high of 100.47 meters in 1984.

The Heilong River's water level has hit 99.59 meters in Luobei County, 1.79 meters above the warning level, and 89.06 meters in Fuyuan County, 1.56 meters higher than the warning level.

The Heilong River's water level in Jiameng County has been rising by 20 cm to 30 cm each day, said Wang Xueming, a flood control expert in Jiameng.

Meanwhile, the water level of the Songhua River, the largest tributary of Heilong, reached 118.27 meters in Harbin, the Heilongjiang provincial capital, on Tuesday. The level exceeded the warning level by 17 cm.

In Jilin Province, which neighbors Heilongjiang and Liaoning, the latest rainstorms have left 16 people dead and five missing. More than 120,000 people were evacuated in the province.