Governor Jiang Daming of east China's Shandong Province has told officials at lower levels to stay alert and prepare for potential serious flooding as the province has had excessive rainfall since January 1 compared to the average yearly rainfall.

While addressing a provincial teleconference on flood control held Saturday in Jinan, the provincial capital, Jiang asked local officials to pay attention to flood prevention on the Yellow River and step up patrol on different waterways.

He suggested more water be diverted and stored from the Yellow River, the country's second longest. He also suggested reservoirs be reinforced to hold more flood water.

Jiang also underlined the importance to step up flood prevention efforts in urban districts, manufacturing and mining areas.

The China national weather observatory predicts that the eastern parts of Shandong will see an increase of 20 percent to 50 percent in precipitation during the province's flood season, which begins Monday and will end August 31.

The provincial weather observatory has reported a rainfall of 163 millimeters since the beginning of the year, a rise of 48 percent from the annual average. It also predicts that the average rainfall in Shandong will hover between 400 mm and 480 mm during this year's flood season, a rise of 20 percent from previous years.

The rainfall will be uneven across Shandong, with parts of the province being struck by drought, and other areas being hit by flooding, the provincial weather observatory warns.

Across Shandong, 17 well-equipped task teams consisting of rescue professionals in flood control are now in standby, while 5 million others who have received flood control training are kept on reserve to offer a helping hand in the event of a flood.

Yellow River, with a length of 5,464 meters, originates and runs through nine Chinese provinces and autonomous regions. It empties into Bohai Sea via Shandong.

Shandong, home to 1,524 reservoirs and 15 key waterways, has set aside hefty investment for harnessing water facilities. Most of these reservoirs and waterways will have been reinforced by the year end, according to the teleconference.

(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2009)