As the rainy season arrives, floods threaten eastern and central China, simultaneously, however, western and northern areas are fighting droughts.

In an effort to ensure security, the central government has called for each area to prepare for either flood or drought. The move is a bid to ensure security of major rivers, large reservoirs and traffic arteries as well as enough water for residents in drought-stricken areas.

Statistics show that floods and droughts led to economic losses totaling 200 billion yuan (US$24 billion) last year.

Floods hit 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, damaged 20 million hectares of farmland, destroyed 2.45 million houses, and affected 220 million people.

Droughts hit northeastern China last spring and southern China last summer, affecting 25 million hectares of farmland and 24.41 million people.

Northwest China's Shaanxi Province has been hit by unusual droughts.

Sunday marked the ninth consecutive day with temperatures higher than 35 C in the provincial capital Xi'an.

Meanwhile, however, water levels at the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers have risen on all fronts since the rainy season began last week. The rise has created a severe test for China's flood control facilities.

Two-thirds of 12 hydraulic observation centers along the Yangtze River, China's largest, have reported higher water levels since June 16.

Local meteorological departments are forecasting two belts of heavy rain that will cover much of the northern and southern regions this summer.

Meanwhile, embankments along the main trunk of the Yangtze River and its tributaries remain weak.

The flood-relief capability in many areas is poor, and undetected problems are certain to have arisen at some reservoirs since the Three Gorges began to store water.

Recently, Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu said the Haihe River, which saw heavy floods last summer, is likely to flood again since the river course and estuary have been severely silted up.

Hui made this remark during a five-day inspection of dykes, reservoirs and major flood control projects within the Haihe River valley earlier this month.

Covering an area of 318,000 square kilometers, the valley includes Beijing and Tianjin municipalities, Hebei, Shandong and Shanxi provinces and Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region.

"The flood and drought prevention work within the valley is very important due to its strategic location as well as the dense population and numerous cities it contains," Hui said.

Many measures have been taken to prevent floods. China Radio International reported that Shanghai is using satellite technology to help defend itself against floods this summer.

Satellite positioning and communications will be used along with remote sensing to keep track of the city's 85 floodgates and basic meteorological conditions.

The flood season usually hits Shanghai from June to September, bringing with it high winds, heavy rainfall and high tides.

Data collected through the system is transferred to the city's water, weather and other departments every 15 minutes.

This gives the system a good shot at predicting possible flooding and in time for preventive measures.

Yesterday, the State Environmental Protection Administration also called on governments at various levels to be well-prepared to prevent possible pollution brought by floods.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2004)