Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice Premier Hui Liangyu Tuesday demanded the governments at all levels make all-out efforts in flood prevention and control.
In response to the floods in Xijiang River in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Minjiang, the largest river in eastern China's Fujian Province, Wen and Hui wrote instructions requiring local governments to identify duties, improve emergency plans, enforce prediction and monitoring on floods, and earnestly carry out the mapped measures.
State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFCDRH) also sent a notice calling for a closely watch on weather and flood changes and enforcement of flood control measures to make sure all the dams and reservoirs can safely pass flood peaks, and avoid mountain torrents disasters.
Affected by surging water in Liujiang, Guijiang and Yujiang, three main tributaries of Xijiang, water level at Wuzhou Hydrographic Station of the river reached 23.06 meters at 2 p.m. Tuesday, 5.76 meters higher than the warning level, and only 2.44 meters left to the safe line designed for the key flood control city of Wuzhou.
The rate of flow there has reached 45,000 cubic meters per second and water level continues to rise.
Local authorities along with local residents are making all-out efforts to fight against floods and the SFCDRH has sent a task team to hand flood control.
(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2005)
