1st-LD-Writethru: China activates highest emergency response level for flooding in Haihe River Basin

BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Water Resources on Tuesday afternoon raised the level of its emergency response to flooding in the Haihe River Basin to Level I, the highest level, as flood control work in the area enters a critical stage.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, the average precipitation in the area was 129 millimeters, and total rainfall had exceeded 40 billion cubic meters, according to the ministry.

As a result of continuous rainfall, the water levels of 16 rivers in the Haihe River Basin have exceeded their warning marks, the ministry said.

The area is now forecast to experience light to moderate rain, with some parts experiencing heavy rain in the next 24 hours.

At the Tuesday meeting on flood analysis, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters urged relevant government departments to launch all-out flood-control efforts in the Haihe River Basin, and dispatched two expert teams to the Mentougou and Fangshan districts in Beijing to help guide local efforts to combat floods and assist rescue work.

It was noted at the meeting that the coordination mechanism in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region should be well-utilized to share flood forecasts and early warning information in a timely manner.

It is also necessary to issue timely updates on the changing rain and flood situations, and refine flood-control responses accordingly.

Secondary disasters from rainstorms and floods need to be warded off, and emphasis should be put on the patrol and protection of important infrastructure facilities, including the south-to-north water diversion project, trunk railways, and oil and gas pipelines, the headquarters said.