Zhu warns flooding may worsen

Some 210,000 residents have been evacuated from their homes in one province

(CNN) -- Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has warned that worse flooding may take place this summer, while several tens of thousands of soldiers have joined rescue operations in at least seven provinces.

Meanwhlie, Beijing has approved millions of yuan of emergency funding to help shore up river banks and relocate Chinese who lost their homes in the deluge.

While inspecting the provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Anhui, earlier this week, Zhu asked officials to prepare for "even more severe flooding than that of 1998."

Thousands perished in the floods four years ago, described as the worst in at least half a century,

RESOURCES Photo Gallery: China flooding hits millions    AUDIO Deputy Director of the Red Cross in China Yang Hui-Xin explains that parts of China are bracing for more floods 2.68 MB / 2 mins 7 secs WAV sound   MORE STORIES Millions hit by China flooding

While looking at anti-flood measures along the Yangtze River and Jiujiang River, Zhu laid down five instructions for cadres charged with flood control.

The most important of these was that local cadres must not build "tofu" or shoddy engineering and flood-prevention works.

During the 1998 crisis, several "tofu" embankments gave way, leading to heavy casualties and economic losses.

Zhu also said that party and government chiefs of each district had to take personal responsibility for the effectiveness of flood control or rescue measures.

State media on Friday quoted Zhu as stressing that flood control along major rivers such as the Yangtze "has an extremely important bearing on economic development and social stability."

Meanwhile, two more provinces, Guangdong and Guangxi, have been hit by abnormally early rainstorms.

As of mid-week, more than 220 people had died in flooding in the provinces of Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hubei and Guizhou as well as the Chongqing municipality.

The official China News Service reported Friday that several tens of thousands of soldiers, People's Armed Police and reservists had taken part in shoring up embankments, strengthening bridges, rescuing endangered residents, and building temporary shelters.

Nine and a half million yuan worth of tents, food, blankets, and medicine have already been sent to western Shaanxi, the province that has been worst affected by the torrential rain this summer.