Flood Control Regulations.

These Regulations are primarily concerned with the organization of Government's responses to the threat and the occurrence of floods. The Government flood control administration is based on a system of flood control headquarters established at national and local levels, and at the level of designated major river basins such as those of the Yangtze and the Huang rivers (arts. 6 and 7). Flood control plans are to be drawn up by such Headquarters centres and by all other agencies and enterprises with flood fighting responsibilities (arts. 11 and 12). In particular, water discharges from reservoirs located in the upper reaches of rivers receiving snowmelt must be approved and supervised by the competent flood control headquarters (art. 13). During the flood season, Government departments and agencies with flood-related tasks are called upon to perform at their best, as minimizing the damage of floods takes priority on their respective agendas (arts. 25-28). Also, areas located on the lower reaches of rivers may not hinder the free passage of flood water in accordance with natural flow conditions, nor can areas located in the upper reaches of rivers increase the discharge without prior authorization (art. 34). Provision is also made for the introduction of a flood insurance scheme, the details of which are left to subsequent determinations (art. 40).