Zhu made the remarks last week at a working meeting in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan Province, when inspecting the flood prevention work along Yellow River.

Summing up the flood prevention and control work, Zhu said that every effort should be made to firmly grasp the three major links: to step up water conservation and soil erosion control work; to further reinforce the construction of flood-control projects; and to rationally utilize and strictly protect the river's water resources.

Zhu said local governments should insist on the policy of returning farmland to forest and carefully protect the existing forest and grassland resources.

The premier also called on local governments to increase investment in flood-control projects, especially in flood-vulnerable regions.

Giving five key instructions on flood prevention work during the peak flooding season, Zhu said top or major officials should lead responsibility for the flood prevention work. He added that they should be on the alert regarding flood conditions around the clock.

Local governments were ordered to prepare flood prevention materials near river dams of embankment, and special urgent repair teams were directed to be available 24 hours a day.

Local water prevention committees were told to organize inspection teams to check for possible flaws in their regions, and to clear all riverside construction that could hinder flood-prevention work as soon as possible.

Local meteorological departments were urged to provide timely weather forecasts to flood prevention departments, and help provide necessary consultations.

Though the leading concern at present is flood-prevention, Zhu warned local governments not to neglect fighting drought.

He urged local governments to take advantage of the relatively larger rainfall to reserve enough water for urban and farm consumption.

Flooding situation

According to sources in Zhengzhou, the death toll rose to 18 after a violent storm rained egg-sized hail and caused flash flooding in the province on Friday evening.

About 250 people were injured in the storm which was packed with "big winds and big thunder,'' said Zhang Hongjie, an official with the civil affairs bureau in Zhengzhou.

"Seventeen people were smashed to death by hail stones or collapsed buildings or wire poles, and one was killed by an electric shock, according to the latest report,'' he said.

The fierce storm affected 1.29 million residents around Zhengzhou and caused a direct economic loss of at least US$46 million, according to Zhang.

Torrential rain and hailstorms also pummeled other cities of the province last Friday, such as Luoyang, Xuchang and Nanyang.

According to the provincial meteorological observatory, such disastrous weather with hailstones will not probably visit the province again in the next several days.

Rainstorms have also battered South China's Guangdong province since July 18, killing nine people, injuring 20 and leaving one missing in flash floods that have affected tens of thousands of people.

Torrential rain also hit the province's capital -- Guangzhou -- on Sunday, and delayed 13 flights at Baiyun airport, a local newspaper reported.

Thundershowers and torrential rain are still expected for some parts of the province over the next couples of days, according to its observatory.

On Saturday a rainstorm that lasted six hours hit Hengshan Mountain, a famous scenic spot in Central China's Hunan Province, causing landslides and holding up over 2,000 tourists, a local newspaper reported.

Jiangxi and Fujian provinces in East China, and Liaoning and Shaanxi provinces in northern China, also suffered heavy or torrential rain recently, which posed great threats to their anti-flood work.

(China Daily July 23, 2002)