After Vice Minister of Water Resources Jiao Yong, leading a six-man work team, arrived in disaster-stricken Sichuan Province before dawn on Tuesday, another four relief groups set off later in the day.

They are heading for Chongqing municipality and for Yunnan, Gansu and Shaanxi Provinces, all of which were severely affected by Monday's major earthquake in Sichuan Province, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale.

The teams will work to prevent dams that were damaged by the earthquake from bursting and endangering the lives of residents.

"Local governments should monitor the projects, to discover and repair damage as soon as possible. In case of danger, make sure to transport people to safer places." said Water Minister Chen Lei.

The Three Gorges Dam had not been affected by the quake and "everything was going as usual," according to Hu Xing'e, an executive with the China Three Gorges Project Corporation.

(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2008)