Floods unlikely to reach scale of 1998

China is unlikely to experience massive flooding like that in the summer of 1998, despite the influence of the strongest El Nino weather pattern ever recorded, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Since March 21, the start of flood season this year, the country has seen 23 percent more precipitation than the average levels in previous years, said Zheng Guoguang, chief of the China Meteorological Administration.

Southern areas of the nation had 20 major rainstorms, the most on record in that time frame, Zheng told a news conference.