China faces more flooding as 90 rivers rise above warning levels

Firefighters try to clear a flooded road (Zhang Tao/Xinhua via AP)

A vast swathe of north-eastern China is threatened by flooding as at least 90 rivers have risen above warning levels and 24 have already overflowed their banks, state media reported.

Crews are standing by to defend homes and farmland across the Songliao Basin north of Beijing, which encompasses more than 482,200 square miles.