Chinese soldiers assist with rescue, relief in flood-stricken regions

BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's armed forces have launched massive emergency rescue and relief efforts in response to typhoon-induced rainstorms that have wreaked havoc in north and northeast China over the past few days.

The armed police force based in northeast China's Jilin Province on Sunday dispatched anti-flood commandos to critical points along the Lalin River before the arrival of the flood peak. Their mission encompassed evacuating those trapped in vulnerable areas and bolstering river embankments to mitigate the potential impact.

Against the rising water level in the Mayi River in Heilongjiang Province, the local armed police force dispatched more than 200 officers for emergency rescue assistance.

They worked continuously for 19 hours and used more than 46,000 sandbags to build an embankment that is 1.5 meters high and more than 1,000 meters long.

Also on Sunday, military personnel of the Northern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army stood fast at the right bank of Mudanjiang River as well as in Shahezi, a town in Heilongjiang Province. They continued to assist with rescue and evacuation operations, while also engaging the inspection and reinforcement of dikes, reservoirs and dangerous river sections.

Affected by Typhoon Doksuri, extreme rainfall was recorded in north China and the regions along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers in the past few days, triggering floods and geological disasters and causing heavy casualties in regions including the national capital.

Affected by the flash floods, traffic in the town of Zhaitang in Mentougou District in Beijing was interrupted.

The armed police force based in Beijing sent an emergency rescue team to deliver disaster relief supplies, such as food, medicine, epidemic prevention materials and lighting devices, to 12 villages in Zhaitang. They hiked 15 kilometers on the mountain road, with each carrying 25 kilograms of supplies on average.

Meanwhile, in Beijing's flood-stricken suburban districts of Fangshan and Mentougou, an engineer detachment of the Central Theater Command built two bridges to help clear the emergency rescue channel of a national highway, benefiting more than 80,000 residents in three townships along the route.

A medical rescue team dispatched by a hospital under the armed police force in north China's Hebei Province to Zhuozhou set up medical stations for the convenience of local residents on Sunday after floods battered the city.

While providing medical services and basic medicines, they also carried out disinfection for epidemic prevention and control and assisted in hygiene publicity.