Undersea weather centerset to go

SHANGHAI: Construction of the country's first underwater observation station, which will be used to help forecast natural disasters, will begin here early next year, the municipal ocean bureau said yesterday.

Weng Guangming, an official with the bureau, said: "The station will be like an underwater weather center that can help scientists to better understand environmental changes and sea resources, and predict natural disasters such as earthquakes."

The station will be built in the Zhoushan Islands near the estuary of the Yangtze River, about 20 km off Shanghai, he said.