A total of 433 rivers in China have exceeded alerting levels since early June, with 33 of them rising to historical highs, according to the Ministry of Water Resources on Monday.

Ye Jianchun, vice minister of water resources, released the data at a press briefing on China's efforts on flood control, adding that 109 rivers have exceeded water safety levels.

China is entering a key period in flood prevention, said Ye, warning the situation in the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake are still severe.

Earlier on Sunday, the ministry raised its flood response alert to the second highest level. The water at 10 hydrological stations along the Yangtze River have exceeded warning levels, and the water level at Taihu Lake has exceeded the warning level for 15 consecutive days, data showed on Sunday. 

So far, hydrological stations at Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, have all exceeded warning levels, and at least four of them have exceeded record water levels set in 1998.

It is expected that rivers in northern part may see greater regional floods in the future, Ye added. 

So far, floods have affected 37.89 million people in 27 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. 141 people are dead or missing, and 28,000 houses have collapsed, according to Zheng Guoguang, vice minister of emergency management.

The ministry has dispatched 47,000 people for flood prevention, rescue and relief work. 76,000 people have been rescued or evacuated, said Zheng.

(CGTN's Yu Diqi contributes to the story.)