East China's Shandong province, which is located at the lower reach of the Yellow River, launched an emergency response for flood control on Wednesday as water levels of the country's second longest river continue to rise following days of rainfall, said a statement from the Shandong Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

The water flow of the Yellow River in Shandong has reached 5,000 cubic meters per second, and the flow at this speed will last about 15 days, said the headquarters on Wednesday.

The headquarters required related units in cities along the Yellow River to strengthen cooperation to control flooding. Saving people's lives shall be our first priority, said the headquarters.

Thousands of people in Shandong were working round-the-clock to patrol the dikes and areas around the Yellow River in case of any dangerous flooding.

The water flow at the Tongguan hydrology station in the middle of the river has increased rapidly, reaching 5,090 cubic meters per second at 11 pm Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

The ministry has dispatched nine work teams to the provincial regions of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, Sichuan, and Chongqing to guide flood-control work.