PREMIER Wen Jiabao returned to Sichuan Province this afternoon and immediately headed to quake-devastated Tangjiashan Village in Beichuan County to exam the flood risk, Xinhua news agency reported.

Wen arrived in Mianyang City and then went to Tangjiashan via helicopter, a CCTV report said.

Wen first went to Sichuan to direct rescue and relief work only a few hours after the May 12 earthquake devastated parts of the province.

The quake-hit areas were at risk of flooding as 34 new unstable lakes have formed in Sichuan Province, said Liu Yuan, director of the environment department of the Ministry of Land today.

Most of these unstable lakes, called barrier lakes, were "very dangerous" now, Liu added.

Water levels have continued to rise as heavy rain fell in some areas, Liu said. He said if one of the lakes bursts, it will flood a "very wide area."