A plan for the prevention and control of mountain torrents, the first of its kind in China, passed expert examination last week, according to the Ministry of Water Resources of China.

Jointly written by five government departments of the State Council, the plan will offer powerful technological support to the country's mountain torrent prevention and control work.

According to the ministry, mountain torrents include floods, mud flows, landslides and other natural disasters caused by rainfall in mountainous areas during rainy seasons. They can cause tremendous amounts of damage as they are generally sudden, powerful and difficult to prevent.

More than 1,000 experts and local governments from 29 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions were involved in the writing of the plan, which includes five main points.

The ministry said the plan includes a thorough investigation of the country's frequent mountain flood areas and analyzes their causes and characteristics.

"As a result of unfavorable climates, terrain and human activities, mountain torrents have become a key cause of human casualties," said the ministry.

Statistics from the ministry indicate that 1,500 of the country's 2,100 counties are located in mountainous areas and about 74 million Chinese people are still under threats posed by mountain torrents, mud flows and landslides.

From 1950 to 1990, mountain torrents killed about 152,000 people, 67.4 percent of those killed by floods.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2005)