Top leadership hails efforts in flood control

Staff members carry out disinfection at Taitou town of Jinghai district, North China's Tianjin municipality, Aug 17, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's top leadership held a meeting on Thursday to study and arrange work on flood prevention, disaster relief and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, emphasizing the need to put people's lives and property first.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, presided over the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and delivered an important speech.

The meeting came as some regions in northern and northeastern China have been hit by severe flooding after heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Doksuri and Typhoon Khanun earlier this month.

The disaster has caused major casualties and property losses in parts of Beijing and Hebei, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. Thousands of people had to leave their homes and many infrastructure facilities were destroyed.

Participants in the meeting commended the concerted efforts of people from various sectors in flood control and disaster relief, saying that the nation has made major achievements in flood control and rescue operations.

They pointed out that the country is still in the flood season, various regions across China remain prone to disasters such as heavy rains, floods and typhoons, and some river basins continue to face the risk of flooding.

As some mountainous areas in northern and northeastern China still face the high risk of mountain torrents and geological hazards, they stressed the need to remain highly vigilant, do well in all aspects of flood prevention and disaster relief work, and give top priority to the safety of people's lives and property.

The meeting's participants highlighted the importance of precise early warning and called for strengthening links between this and emergency response.

Priority should be given to preventing large-scale flooding in river basins, while flood-control work should be well planned and implemented, they said. Comprehensive preparations should be made for emergency response teams, materials and the use of flood storage areas to ensure the security of major rivers during the flood season, they added.

The meeting's participants also emphasized the importance of decisive actions at critical moments, saying that people in dangerous areas should be decisively and thoroughly evacuated.

Efforts should be made to carry out emergency rescue operations and coordinate the deployment of the national rescue team, the People's Liberation Army, the People's Armed Police Force, State-owned enterprises and other social rescue forces in order to ensure efficient and scientific rescue efforts, they said.

All-out efforts should be made to ensure the livelihoods of affected populations, and environmental disinfection and hygiene measures as well as market stabilization efforts should be strengthened to restore the normalcy of work and life in disaster-stricken areas, they added.

The meeting's participants stressed the need to effectively utilize disaster relief funds, accelerate recovery efforts and prioritize the restoration of transportation, communication and power infrastructure.

The restoration and reconstruction of public facilities such as schools, hospitals and nursing homes should be expedited, they said, adding that financial institutions should simplify related procedures, provide credit support and insurance claims for the affected areas, and assist affected populations and businesses in overcoming difficulties.