BEIJING - The Ministry of Education has urged local authorities to prepare for the upcoming national college entrance examination, known as the "gaokao" next week.

Emergency measures should be rolled out to deal with earthquakes, torrential rain, floods and disease outbreaks that could occur during the exams, the ministry said Thursday.

Meanwhile, education authorities have taken anti-cheating measures. A national campaign has been launched to crack down on the sale of wireless devices for cheating, unauthorized gaokao-related content online and substitute exam sitters.

Other measures ordered by the ministry include traffic control and noise abatement around examination venues to create a peaceful environment for students.

A total of 9.42 million Chinese students sat for the 2015 national college entrance exam, according to statistics from the ministry.