East China's Fujian Province is building a meteorological disaster control system to serve Fujian and Taiwan, a senior meteorological official announced on Tuesday.

The disaster control system would cover Fujian and the Taiwan Straits, said Yang Weisheng, head of the provincial meteorological bureau. The two provinces are among China's worst-hit areas for natural disasters, particularly typhoons, rainstorms and droughts.

The project would cost 190 million yuan (US$24.1 million) and is scheduled for completion in 2008.

Yang said, the province had improved its onshore weather monitoring services, but still needed to make serious steps in marine climate monitoring, analysis and forecasting. Improvement in these areas would be conducive for effective development for harbors and fisheries.

The new disaster control system will include a sea climate information center, 41 observation stations, both coastal and offshore atmospheric environment exploration mechanisms, trans-centre communication system along with a more advanced weather forecast and warning system.

(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2006)