As Typhoon Soudelor approaches, Premier Li Keqiang has issued instructions on flood control and drought relief.

He has instructed the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief and authorities in provinces at risk to pay attention to the approaching typhoon and protect people’s lives and properties by implementing preventative measures.

The Meteorological Center issued a yellow alert on Aug 6 for Soudelor, which will bring gales and heavy rain to the country’s coast in the coming days.

Vice-Premier Wang Yang also instructed the office to increase guidance on local authorities’ efforts against the approaching typhoon, launch any emergency response in time and enhance monitoring and warnings.

The office deployed precautionary measures after receiving instructions from the Office of Emergency Response of the State Council.

Branch offices in regions involved were ordered to make full preparations and to hold video conferences to better study the growing trend of the typhoon. Work groups will be sent to provinces involved to give assistance in flood prevention and typhoon safety.

The Ministry of Commerce has granted allowances of 210 million yuan to the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong which have been badly hit by flood disasters, to help reconstruction work.