China will try to control geological calamities by intensifying efforts to improve related laws and regulations, as well as surveillance and emergency systems, an official said in Chongqing Friday.

China is among the countries under the most serious threat of geological disasters, as it has about 160,000 spots liable to the attacks, said Vice Minister of Land and Resources Shou Jiahua at a seminar on land and resources administration, held in this southwest metropolis.

In China, she said, from 1995 to 2003, geological disasters, like landslide, mud slide, ground sinkage, left 10,499 people dead or missing, and caused property losses valued at 57.5 billion yuan (US$6.9 billion).

Geological disasters caused by human activities are on the rise, the official warned, adding that more than half of the disasters reported in recent years in the country were resulted from the construction of roads and water conservancy projects, the excessive tapping of underground water, mineral exploitation, and other human activities.

A number of key infrastructure projects will also be launched in the coming 5-10 years, and efforts should be intensified to strengthen management, she added.

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2004)