BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The first flood hitting the Yangtze River this year occurred in the middle and lower reaches, with water exceeding the alarm level Saturday morning, said the Ministry of Water Resources.

Due to recent heavy rainfall, floods exceeding alarms formed in the main stream near Jiujiang and Poyang Lake in the middle reaches of the river, with the water level at Jiujiang Hydrometric Station reaching 20.06 meters Saturday morning, 0.06 meters above the warning level, the ministry said.

Considering possible floods near Dongting Lake, the ministry decreased the flow of the Three Gorges reservoir from Friday to ease the flood prevention pressure of the area and the middle and lower reaches in the mainstream of the Yangtze river.

The ministry also issued flood prevention notices to local governments of Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan provinces and Shanghai municipality, which is located in the middle and lower reaches, as well as dispatching two work teams to Anhui and Zhejiang to guide prevention work.

So far, the ministry has sent seven work teams and one expert team to flood-affected areas to guide work.

Earlier this year, two heavy floods occurred in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and Xijiang River in the Pearl River basin also saw the first flood this year.