Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has visited flood-affected areas in Anhui Province. During the tour of the region Saturday, Wen Jiabao asked officials to ensure the safety and livelihoods of people affected by the Huaihe floods. Wen got a first-hand look at the situation at the Wangjiaba sluice gates, one of the most important flood control barriers on the river.

Premier Wen Jiabao is the highest-ranking Chinese government official to visit the region since torrential rain inundated the Huaihe River nearly two weeks ago.

The gates are one of the river's key water control mechanisms. They link the waterway's upper and middle reaches and stretch across two provinces.

The gates were raised for the second time within a week early on Friday to ease pressure from dangerously high water levels.

For nearly two days, a torrent of more than 13 hundred cubic meters has poured into the Mengwa storage area each second. That's brought water levels down at the rate of a centimeter an hour.

The efforts of local residents have not gone unnoticed. The premier expressed his high regard for the affected workers and thanked them for shoring up the main dykes along the river.

The premier assured the sufferers that their safety and livelihoods would be guaranteed. He urged local officials to do everything possible to ensure the safety, health and property of those affected.

Almost half of the Mengwa area's storage capacity has been used, inundating 12 thousand hectares of land. Twenty thousand people have been displaced and been forced to find shelter in camps.

(CCTV July 13, 2003)