BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) — As northern China enters its flood season, Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu has urged local authorities to step up flood-control preparations.
Hui made the remarks on Saturday at a flood control conference after a two-day tour inspecting the facilities on Haihe River near Tianjin.

People walk and the vehicle moves on the flooded Weiming Road in Cangzhou City, north China’s Hebei Province, July 5, 2008. Heavy rainfall hit Cangzhou on Saturday.(Xinhua Photo)
”We have seen higher-than-average rains this year,” Hui said. “Extreme weather is happening more frequently, and strong torrential rains hit both southern and northern China. We cannot afford any carelessness in flood control.”
Hui urged related authorities to strengthen early warning systems, make contingency plans, and step up defense of important, dangerous or weak embankments.
Flooding and related disasters since the beginning of June have left 252 people dead and 64 missing across China, which saw the start of the main flood season on Tuesday.
Three Gorges Reservoir opens sluices for flood-control
YICHANG, July 5 (Xinhua) — The Three Gorges Dam Project has started discharging water to lower the water level in the reservoir after excessive rainfall upstream.
The inflow was 34,500 cubic meters per second at 8 a.m. Saturday, up from 27,000 six hours before. Operators opened six spillways to discharge water of 11,000 cubic meters per second, said Zhao Yunfa, a director of the communication center of China¡¯s largest hydropower project. Full story
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