China kicks off a training program on the geological disaster prevention to rural residents in a move to boost their self-defense ability.

The two-month program covers as many as 18 provinces, most of which are impoverished hinterland, according to a televised conference Friday co-held by the Ministry of Land and Resources together with three other departments.

The poor-informed residents will be told with practical knowledge including the site selection for houses in the disaster-prone areas and emergency measures when calamities befall.

The vast remote and undeveloped rural areas are among the worst-hit regions, 80 percent of the country's catastrophes, said Sun Wensheng, minister of Land and Resources.

The minister called for further efforts to disseminate the knowledge on geological disaster prevention at grass-roots level, which is effective to check the risks.

(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2006)