国内英语新闻:More efforts needed to combat extreme weather: vice premier

BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- More efforts to fight droughts and floods are needed to ensure the safety of those affected by the disasters, Vice Premier Wang Yang said Monday.

Authorities must engage in scientific disaster analyses and make relief efforts more proactive, as well as enhance flood prevention and control measures, Wang said at a meeting held by the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Drinking water supplies and water for irrigation must be ensured for drought victims, Wang said, adding that water conservancy facilities should be designed according to precipitation changes.

Flood prevention and control work should be enhanced along the flooded Songhua River and an eye should be kept on typhoons in order to prevent human casualties, Wang noted.

Wang made the instructions after listening to drought and flood relief work reports from southwest China's drought-plagued Guizhou Province and northeast China's flood-hit Heilongjiang Province.

A lingering drought has left over 2.5 million people short of drinking water in Guizhou, while heavy rain in north China's Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, as well as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, have affected over 2.25 million people, according to the headquarters.

The extreme weather is expected to continue in both regions over the next three days, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.

An orange alert for high temperatures in south China was issued by the center on Monday, as well as a blue alert for heavy rain in north China.

Premier Li Keqiang urged the headquarters and local governments to ensure disaster victims' safety and balance drought relief and flood control efforts on Aug. 11 after floods hit regions located along northeast China's Songhua River.

The central government has allocated 460 million yuan (74.6 million U.S. dollars) to ease droughts and prevent floods, the Ministry of Finance announced on Aug. 9.