Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei on Friday urged local authorities to beef up the security of reservoirs as the flood season arrives.

Chen said at a work conference in Beijing that the nation's reservoirs are facing more severe security challenges due to the impact of climate change and the ongoing massive construction of water-related facilities.

Presently, at least 40,000 small reservoirs are beset with security challenges, and some reservoirs lack adequate emergency response systems, according to Chen.

The minister said intensified work is needed to strengthen security so as to protect local residents.

He added that concrete work by local authorities last year helped address 600 emergency cases, which prevented more than 80 million people from flooding disasters due to reservoir collapses.

Source:mwr.gov