Officials in Olympic host cities, should be especially vigilant for possible dangers around highways and railways, tourist spots, schools and large construction sites, as the Games will be held during the flood season, Yuan said.

They should forward their findings to the land ministry as soon as possible, he said.

Officials in Chongqing municipality and Hubei province should also speed up their flood preparation plans to guard against potential disasters in the Three Gorges Dam area, Yuan said.

Over the past year, 251 hi-tech GPS monitoring stations and almost 1,900 observation spots manned by villagers have been set up along the Yangtze River.

The system last year provided advance warning of 78 landslides so that 11,300 people could be evacuated, none of whom were hurt, he said.

Land departments around the country last year forecast 920 geological disasters and in doing so saved almost 38,000 people from potential danger, the Ministry of Land and Resources said.

(China Daily April 10, 2008)