China's central government set aside 232 million yuan (US$31.35 million) on Wednesday to finance the ongoing battle against floods in Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Hubei and Sichuan provinces.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao urged local governments to try to improve weather monitoring, give priority to safety and properly relocate people in flood-hit areas.

Cheng Dianlong, deputy director of the office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, said the emergency relief fund would be used to help relocate residents from the Mengwa Buffer Zone which was deliberately submerged on Tuesday to weaken the flood peaks of the Huaihe River.

The operation has so far had little effect. At 4:00 AM on Wednesday, the water level at Wangjiaba was 29.59 meters. It fell slightly to 29.55 meters at noon but remains highly dangerous.

At the request of flood-control and drought relief departments of Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces, the headquarters dispatched Wednesday 100 rubber boats, 900,000 woven sacks and 800,000 water-proof knitted fabric garments to the flood-ravaged areas.

Cheng Dianlong said that this is the second worst flood on the Huaihe River since 1954, with hydrological stations along the river reporting water levels 2 to 3.5 meters above their warning marks.

Some 488,400 people have been evacuated from the likely path of floodwater from China's Huaihe River, including 343,900 from Anhui Province.

More than half a million people from the three provinces have been mobilized to patrol water dams and riverbanks around-the-clock to detect and prevent dangerous conditions. Twelve new risky conditions were detected on Wednesday.

In the Yangtze River valley, four helicopters have been dispatched to help evacuate 658 people in Longchang County of Southwestern Sichuan Province. The 3,700 people trapped by flood water in Luxian County have been rescued and transported to safety.

No critical dangers have been reported as the water level along the Yangtze River is receding, Cheng said.

The central government also sent several working teams to flood-stricken areas to guide disaster relief work. One of the working teams, headed by civil affairs minister Li Xueju, arrived in Anhui on Wednesday.

(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2007)