The governor of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province is attempting to protect students during the ongoing flood season.

The move follows the death of 117 people, mainly children, in the province in a flood earlier this month,

All primary and middle schools must add training courses on emergency evacuation to future curriculums, said Governor Zhang Zuoji during a flood prevention press conference on Tuesday.

Rescue procedures

Zhang called for all primary and middle schools to help students raise awareness of rescue procedures in an emergency with evacuation drills.

He also called for teachers to be more fearless and responsible while facing emergencies to ensure the safety of students.

A flash flood swept Shalan Town in Ning'an on June 10, claiming 117 lives of whom 105 were students at a primary school.

In addition to 109 victims announced on Monday, the local government confirmed another eight adult victims at Tuesday's press conference.

According to Wang Tongtang, local government spokesman, the eight people were buried by their relatives first and only reported to the authorities later.

Weather experts said the flash flood, triggered by torrential rain, was the worst in 200 years.

And the disaster occurred at about 2 PM when more than 300 students were having classes in the low-lying school.

Daughter lost

Villager Xue Lingguo, who lost his eight-year-old daughter Ying Ying in the tragedy, told China Daily that only one teacher and one student from the first grade survived the flood.

Many villagers who lost children seemed to bear a grudge against the teachers, as none of them died.

However, Wang Deli, a villager, told China Daily he had heard that just one fifth-grade student died because of the actions of the school's sports teacher.

Meanwhile, on June 17, water rushed into a primary school in Qiqihar in the province.

Safe evacuation

Thanks to an orderly rescue operation, all of the 430 students and 40 teachers were safely evacuated.

Zhang asked governments at all levels to do all they could to avoid human casualties and minimize losses caused by floods.

The province has also included flood prevention and relief operations as key factors in judging the performance of officials.

(China Daily June 23, 2005)