Related: Strongest rainstorm in 45 years hit Jiangsu

    NANJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Continuous storms hit parts of East China's Jiangsu Province since June 21, which have dumped 316 millimeters of rain and have collapsed houses, inundated croplands and caused dozens of casualties.

    From June 21 to July 5, this coastal province has had the most rainfall since 1961, nearly four times the average of this period in many years, according to the provincial meteorological bureau.

    The disastrous weather inundated large tracts of cropland and forests and rising water levels are threatening to overflow the shores of a major lake along the lower Huaihe River that runs across the province.

    Water flowing into Hongze Lake hit 6,500 cubic meters per second, leading to rising water levels, the bureau said.

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