Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu on Thursday urged officials to be prepared for possible floods and droughts this year as freak weather may continue to affect the country.

China faces an "overall relatively bad outlook" in terms of harsh weather this year, making it arduous work to prevent floods and droughts, said Hui at a conference of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarter.

Hui, who is also chief of the headquarter, noted the headquarter's task was "exceptionally formidable" last year but the government managed to reduce losses to a minimum.

The country was hit by a worst-in-decades drought in the north from October 2008 through February, which parched 161 million mu (10.73 hectares) of cropland and left 4.37 million people short of drinking water.

In the first quarters, the Yellow River, China's second longest, saw rare ice blockage that lifted water levels and caused flood threats to lives and property in the northern Shanxi Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region along the river.

Hui told officials to enhance weather monitoring, speed up repairing dangerous reservoirs and make a better use of water resources.

(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2009)