Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu on Friday called for greater
efforts to combat the effects of increasing extreme weather
conditions in the country.
Extreme weather conditions have been plaguing larger swathes of
the country over the past couple of years, Hui told a flood control
and drought relief meeting in Beijing.
The local governments should step up efforts to build more flood
control projects on major rivers and to reinforce reservoirs that
have safety problems, he said.
The vice premier also called to improve prevention efforts for
typhoons, flash floods, and landslides and to build more water
conservation facilities for agriculture.
So far this year, floods have affected 180 million people in 31
regions including Chongqing, Henan and Anhui, with 1,203 people
killed, according to figures from the State Flood Control and
Drought Relief Headquarters.
Figures showed flash floods and mudslides are responsible for
more than 70 percent of the death toll.
The floods this year also ruined 12 million hectares of crops
and destroyed more than one million houses, leading to direct
economic loss of 107.1 billion yuan (14.5 billion U.S.
dollars).
(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2007)
