BEIJING - China has allocated 3.8 billion yuan ($584.6 million) to reduce flood risks in mountainous areas through non-structural measures, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said Saturday.

The fund was spent on non-structural measures against mountainous torrents in 1,100 counties nationwide, which included strengthening flood forecasting, enhancing flood warning and emergency response systems.

Construction of most projects have already started, some of which have helped prevent casualties during the flooding in Hunan, Jiangxi and Yunnan provinces earlier this year, said the headquarters.

The Chinese government announced a plan in November 2010 to complete non-structural flood control systems for the country's 1,836 county-level regions in three years to strengthen the prevention and control over mountainous torrents.

The headquarters urged local authorities to step up construction of the non-structural flood control facilities, which could help with disaster prevention as early as possible.