Vice premier urges greater flood control efforts

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang warned of more strong rainfall in the Yangtze River basin on Saturday and said the disaster relief task remains "quite arduous."

With the approaching of August usually with strong rainfalls and more Typhoon, China is facing a more severe and complicated situation in fighting floods, Wang said while commanding disaster relief work in the eastern province of Jiangxi.

Local authorities must enhance forecast of rain and floods, and make full use of water conservancy projects to prevent and mitigate disasters, the vice premier said.

They must reinforce monitoring and detection work to prevent breaches of banks and dikes, he said.

Continuous rain along the Yangtze have killed at least 237 people and left dozens missing since mid June. Water levels on the Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, two major bodies of fresh water, have long been higher than the warning line.

Local governments and relevant departments must spare no efforts to control the floods and ensure people's safety, Wang said, adding they should improve flood prevention facilities and technologies to reduce future disasters. Endi