Flood, typhoon disaster relief drill held in E China's Zhejiang

HANGZHOU, May 10 (Xinhua) -- A drill focusing on mitigation, emergency response and disaster relief for super typhoons and major floods was held in east China's Zhejiang Province on Friday.

The drill was jointly organized by the office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Zhejiang provincial government.

During the drill, a simulation was conducted depicting a scenario in which a super typhoon made landfall along the coast, resulting in multiple concurrent disasters. These included maritime vessels in distress, severe urban flooding, geological hazards, inundated villages, stranded individuals, breached embankments, reservoir accidents, railway closures, factory explosions, and disruptions to road traffic, power supply and communication networks.

The primary drill site was in Jinhua City, with additional exercise locations set up in the cities of Hangzhou and Ningbo.

Around 8,000 emergency response personnel, four helicopters, one drone and various departments associated with maritime, railway, aviation and road operations took part in the exercise.

China's southeastern coastal provinces are particularly vulnerable to the impact of typhoons. However, due to effective early warning systems and robust preventive measures, the incidence of flood disasters in these areas has declined in recent years.

Data released by the Ministry of Water Resources showed that the number of deaths or missing persons due to flood disasters decreased from 1,149 in 2013 to 279 in 2020.