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CHANGSHA, July 2-- Days of torrential rain in central China's Hunan Province raised the water level of the Xiangjiang River, a major tributary of the Yangtze River, to exceed its record flood level Sunday morning. The water level in the section of the river in Changsha, capital of Hunan, reached 39.21 meters at 6:30 a.m., higher than the previous record of 39.18 meters set by a massive flood in 1998. Already at 3.2 meters above the warning level, the water level is expected to continue to rise as heavy rain is forecast for upstream regions over the next few days. As of 2 p.m., the water level had risen by another 0.21 meters to 39.42 meters, according to Changsha flood control office. Local authorities issued a red alert Sunday afternoon, warning that water levels along the whole course of the Xiangjiang River are forecast to be near or above record levels during the next three days. Meanwhile, the water levels in Dongting Lake and several other major rivers in Hunan have all risen above warning levels, worsening the flood control situation. Currently Changsha is on high alert with workers inspecting every 50 meters of the dikes to guard against potential breaches. Hundreds of officials and residents in Yuhua district worked overnight Saturday building a wall of 65,000 sandbags to block water from flowing into the city area. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 workers in Tianxin district were reinforcing dikes and pumping water to manage potential flood threats. | 
