Beijing to dredge rivers after fatal storm

The capital plans to improve its flood prevention and drainage system by dredging river channels and reinforcing dikes and reservoirs so that the city is prepared and able to cope with extreme flooding, Beijing News reported Thursday.

By October, workers will have cleared sludge and other waste that was washed into rivers by the July 21 rainstorm, the heaviest to hit the Chinese capital in 60 years, Cheng Jing, director of the Beijing Water Authority, said Wednesday.

The city will also harness its 34 small and medium-sized rivers, reinforce 13 reservoirs and renovate flood control works in 15 river basins, Cheng said, adding that these projects will be completed by June of next year.

Also a new rule has been introduced that all newly-built communities must have rain storage facilities, with every 10,000 square meters areas being able to hold more than 500 cubic meters rains.

The devastating rainstorm in Beijing that killed 79 people last month, sparked a nationwide fury over the city's weak drainage system.