Swollen rivers in the south of the country started receding but officials did not dare lower their guard as more rain was predicted and epidemics remained a real risk.

More heavy rain was expected to sweep across Guangxi region, one of the worst-hit areas during this year's flood season, and lash other severely affected parts of the vast country, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Flood control work is still tough in these areas," said E Jingping, vice minister of water resources, according to Xinhua.

Floods have always been part of life in China but this year they have been unusually devastating, leaving 567 people dead and 165 missing.

More than 44 million people have been hit by flooding, leading to the emergency evacuation of some 2.45 million, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

As the immediate threat of flooding declined, offering respite at least for the time being, officials were turning to the menace of lethal water-borne diseases.

In Guangxi region, which is one of China's poorest areas and is inhabited by large numbers of ethnic minorities, officials flew in disinfectants in a desperate attempt to ward off epidemics.

"We're doing everything we can to prevent epidemic outbreaks," an official surnamed Chen, with the Guangxi Flood Relief Headquarters, told AFP.

Medical workers from parts of Guangxi not affected by the floods were dispatched to the inundated areas to join teams fanning out into the countryside.

Dressed in protective suits, they went from house to house in the cities, towns and villages to spray disinfectant.

"We use helicopters in areas that are too far off to be easily reached by foot or car," said the official.

Altogether 300 medical teams were working long hours throughout Guangxi to prevent epidemics, the Xinhua news agency said.

Access to clean drinking water and ample medical supplies was on a list of priorities published by the Ministry of Civil Affairs Saturday, according to the agency.

The city of Wuzhou, near Guangxi's border with prosperous Guangdong province, is particularly flood-prone, with the years 1994 and 1998 etched into the memories of residents as especially harrowing.

"Luckily, there were no epidemics those two years," said an official with the flood control headquarters surnamed Qin.

"This time the situation is still not clear but so far we haven't received any epidemic report."

On Friday the Ministry of Health issued a circular to step up monitoring and prevention against a potential outbreak of cholera and other intestinal infections as stagnant waters across southern China became breeding grounds for disease, the China News Service said.

The ministry said nearly 3,400 cases of cholera, dysentery and typhoid fever had been recorded in the first six months of the year and warned that the incidence of such diseases was on the rise.

In a sign that the government is still preparing for the worst, the Ministry of Civil Affairs this weekend urged all local governments to keep special disaster relief staff on duty 24 hours a day.

It also warned that it would punish any attempt by local officials to delay their reports on floods or cover up failures to initiate relief efforts immediately.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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