(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-06 20:32

BEIJING - The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters launched a level-two emergency response plan on Friday as a new round of heavy rain was expected to hit southern China.

This was an upgrade from the previous level-three emergency response plan issued by the agency on May 30 when the country's southern provinces were hit by torrential rains late last month which left 64 people dead.

Heavy rain and severe rainstorms had swept some parts of Guangxi and Guangdong provinces from Thursday morning to Friday morning, it said.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) said on Friday heavy rain would be expected over the next three days in Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Guangxi and Guangdong provinces, while some regions would see torrential rain accompanied with thunderstorms.

Tian Yitang, deputy head of the headquarters, said this new round of heavy rain would be more severe than that in late May.

"We should be on high alert for flood problems as the previous round of heavy rain had already raised the water levels in some rivers, and irrigations work and reservoirs in quake-hit areas were still not repaired."

Damaged reservoirs in Sichuan had been ordered to run at a low water level to prepare against possible flooding in the rainy season, and workers were expected to finish repairs on all endangered reservoirs before June 20, according to the provincial bureau of water resources.

Reinforcement on damaged embankment along rivers are to complete by the end of June, as about 722.6 km of embankment were shattered in the quake.

The headquarters said it had dispatched two inspection teams to address possible flooding problems in Guangdong, Guangxi and Chongqing.

The headquarters also asked on Friday for related regions to closely monitor the rainfall and water levels of rivers and reservoirs, and take precautions against flash floods and reservoir bursts to minimize danger in this new round of torrential rain.