The Ho Chi Minh City authority has urged local Steering Centre for UrbanFlood Control to check the progress of work on irrigation andenvironmental sanitation projects to prevent flooding as the rainyseason begins.

The centre reported that after the downpouron June 5, 32 locations around the city were flooded, including somerecently upgraded streets like 3 Thang 2, An Duong Vuong and Minh Phung.

Do Tan Long of the centre said this was because therainfall was much higher than the roads and drainage system weredesigned for.

They were designed to cope with up to 65mm of rainfall while 72mm of water were dumped on these places.

Long sounded a warning that last year there were 10 downpours of more than 80mm each.

The centre urged local authorities to speed up construction of dykes, especially along the sea in suburban Can Gio District.

It also called for stiff penalties for individuals and organisations violating dyke protection regulations.

Relevant agencies are set to carry out inspections to detect activitiesaffecting dyke construction, such as soil exploitation.

The city administration instructed the Department of Agriculture andRural Development and other agencies to inspect the dyke system andreinforce weak and damaged sections before September.

ThePeople's Committee has drawn up plans to prevent flooding in thedowntown area, eliminating rain-related floods at 70 percent of currentlocations and river-tide-related floods at 50 percent of locations./.