China warns of heavy floods in northern, northeastern regions

BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Emergency Management has warned of relatively severe floods in areas along several major rivers in the country's northern and northeastern regions.

Heavy floods are likely to take place in the Songhua River basin, the Haihe River basin, the upper and middle reach of the Yellow River basin and the northern part of the Huaihe River, the ministry said at a Friday meeting, alerting that there might be northbound typhoons in the summer.

The ministry also pointed out that flood control and drought relief could be a tough job for North China, as the region has not seen severe flooding for years, leaving a number of weak links in this regard.

China entered the flood season on March 28, four days earlier than previous years.

The ministry urged local authorities to step up flood supervision, strengthen checks of flood-prevention projects and make emergency response plans to guard against potential disasters.