On July 12, the Yichang Municipal Flood Control and Drought Relief Direction Center raised its flood-control response from Level IV to Level III.

　　The heavy rain in the pastfew days hit many areas in Yichang. The weather forecast said our city will experience frequent precipitation, many rainy days, and heavy accumulated rainfall.in the upcoming week. The continuous heavy rain has kept the water level of rivers, lakes and reservoirs high and the water content of the soil of hills saturated with lower stability, drawing a grave picture of flood control in Yichang. According to the Yichang Flood Control and Drought Relief Contingency Plan, Yichang raised its flood-control response from Level IV to Level III starting from 13:00 on July 12 .

　　The authority said that, based the third level of emergency response, all sections in the city should further implement the responsibility system of floodprevention and drought relief with the responsibility system of the administrative chiefs at the core. By taking detailed measures, they shouldwork to complete their prevention and response duty in consultation and negotiation, detection and warning, risk identification, risk avoidance and disaster relief. They should prepare to ensure the life and properties of the public.（Reporter Yang Xinyu and Correspondent Meng Qingxuan）