AUTHORITIES in China are stepping up a massive anti-flood effort, mobilizing 800,000 people, including 8,000 soldiers, to shore up Dongting Lake which threatens to create a disaster that could match the deadly floods of 1998.

　Vice Premier Wen Jiabao has instructed government leaders in the Yangtze River valley to take urgent measures against potential flooding and mobilize soldiers and citizens to protect the river bank and transport system.

　Sources said that the water line at the Chenglingji hydrology station, where the Yangtze River joins Dongting Lake, had reached 34.45 meters yesterday and was likely to hit 35 meters Saturday.

　More than 1,000 homes have been evacuated from areas close to the lake. Traffic in six cities of Hunan Province, including Changsha, was restricted to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles.

　Heavy rain in the area has subsided, allowing emergency workers to buttress the embankments and organize further evacuations.

　Yet despite the rain easing, authorities have warned that four swollen rivers flowing into Dongting Lake were pushing its waters higher, State media reported.

　Should the lake burst its banks, then water flowing down the Yangtze could also threaten neighboring Hubei Province and its capital Wuhan.(SD-Xinhua)