BEIJING, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities on Sunday called for enhanced precautions against mountain torrents, geological disasters, flooding of medium and small rivers, and urban waterlogging, as heavy downpours are expected to hit multiple regions over the next three days.
To assess recent rainfall trends and flood conditions, and to coordinate flood control efforts in key regions, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) held a joint consultation on Sunday with the China Meteorological Administration, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Transport.
The meeting noted that the Liujiang River in the Pearl River basin has seen the first numbered flood of the year for China's major rivers.
From Sunday to next Friday, heavy to torrential rain, with locally extreme downpours, is forecast to hit parts of southwestern and southern China, including the regions between the Yangtze and Huai rivers, the Jianghan Plain, and areas south of the Yangtze River.
Local authorities have been urged to strengthen monitoring and forecasting, step up early warning efforts, and activate or adjust emergency responses in a timely manner, the meeting said.
Priority should be given to preventing mountain torrents, geological disasters, and flooding in medium and small rivers, according to the meeting.
Efforts should also be made to guard against urban waterlogging and farmland inundation, with timely evacuation of people in high-risk areas.
The headquarters has maintained a Level-IV flood-control emergency response for Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Chongqing and Guizhou, while terminating the Level-IV response for Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Yunnan, according to the MEM.
China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe. ■
