(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-26 08:44

Short message service (SMS) has played an important role in helping disastrous weather forecast in China, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said on Saturday.

Since this year, the Sichuan branch of China Mobile, the country's largest mobile communication operator, has invested 150 million yuan (US$20 million) to install information terminals, devices that can receive short messages, among the 50,000 villages across the southwest province.

"These machines have sent flood warnings among locals at the earliest time, allowing them to get prepared to the full extent," said sources with the CMA.

Before Typhoon Sepat swept China's central province of Hunan, local meteorological authorities issued typhoon warnings by sending short messages to 2.25 million mobile phone users all over the province.

"Thanks to the timely warning, construction on transportation projects and production in collieries had suspended before the typhoon arrived," said the sources.

Weather authorities in Jiangxi and Hainan provinces also sent flood forecast to the public.

China has more than 508 million mobile phone users by the end of July this year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Information Industry.

"The increasing number of mobile phones makes it possible for disaster warnings through SMS," said Zeng Jianqiu, a professor with the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

By August 22 this year, natural disasters in China had affected 310 million people and led to direct economic losses of 126.4 billion yuan (US$16.85 billion ), according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

However, both the number of people affected and the death toll decreased in a year with more severe natural disasters compared with last year.

"One of the major reasons is that China has built an emergency response system at all levels and implemented the people-first principle in disaster relief work," said Li Xueju, minister of civil affairs.