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More rainfall is expected to hit China's three main waterways this summer than in recent years, possibly triggering severe flooding along parts of the rivers, senior flood control officials say.

Soldiers of the People's Liberation Army take part in a flood prevention drill in Chaohu city, Anhui province, on Sunday.[China Daily]

Based on the long-term weather and climate forecasts, more rainfall is forecast along the Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Pearl River than in previous years.

Regions along northeastern parts of the Yellow River and the Huaihe River, for example, will see 20 to 50 percent more rainfall this summer than average, according to the Huaihe River commission under the Ministry of Water Resources.

The Huaihe River, one of the most flood-prone rivers in China, is likely to have its most severe flooding this summer since 2007, the commission warned.

"Huge flooding over the whole of the Huaihe River is likely to happen in the next several months, which could saturate the ground and trigger other disasters," Wang Bin, deputy chief of the commission, told China Daily in an interview.

The Huaihe River originates in Henan province and covers an area of 270,000 square kilometers eastward between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, cutting through Henan and East China's Shandong, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces before entering the Yangtze River.

Regions along the river have become more populous, and an increasing number of industrial and mining enterprises arrived in recent years due to rapid urbanization.

Of the country's total grain output - 571 million tons in 2011 - more than 30 percent came from regions along the Huaihe River, according to the Hauihe River commission.

"So the loss will be great if government fails to take effective relief measures when huge floods hit the areas," Wang said.

The Huaihe River has had two massive floods in the past decade, which caused direct economic losses of 28.6 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) in 2003 and 15.5 billion yuan in 2007.

So far, the quantity of relief materials, such as rubber boats, diesel-fueled generators and emergency lights, has far exceeded that in 2003 and 2007, said Ji Bing, a top flood control official in Anhui.

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