The rains that have deluged many parts of southern China the past week are set to move north, the Central Meteorological Office said yesterday, warning local residents to prepare for possible floods and disasters.

From June 12-15, downpours will sweep through Guizhou and Jiangxi provinces, and other areas south of the Yangtze River, the observatory said.

At the same time, the north of the country should prepare for some rain and possible downpours, meteorologists said.

Precipitation reached 10-30 millimetres in parts of Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangdong provinces from June 11-12, the observatory said.

The rainfall from May 1 to June 8 was the heaviest since 1973, meteorologists said.

In Jiangxi, floods and disasters triggered by heavy rain have killed seven people and forced 368,000 to leave their homes since May 25, according to Li Baojun, an official in charge of disaster relief from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

A disaster relief panel headed by officials of the ministry has rushed to the province to provide help. A level-three anti-disaster scheme has been launched with the allocation of 150 million yuan (US$18.54 million) of relief funds by the provincial government, Li said.

The latest death tolls in Guangdong Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have reached 24 and 15 respectively since June 1, Li disclosed.

"Disasters such as mountain floods and mud-flows caused by heavy rain in some regions are inevitable at the present time," said Ding Liuqian, vice-director of the flood control and anti-disaster institute under the Ministry of Water Resources.

As the rain belt moves further northward, it will bring danger to those unprepared, he warned.

"Regions along the Yellow River are predicted to face severe challenges due to possible heavy rainfall," he said.

An effective method to decrease losses of life is to enhance the sense of precaution among local people, especially those living in remote mountainous regions, he said.

"People could move to safety away from their houses before the real danger comes," Ding suggested.

(China Daily June 13, 2006)