All-out flood relief efforts urged

A giant wave crashes over a road in Xiapu county, Fujian province, on Thursday. Local authorities have stepped up preparations for flood control as Typhoon Gaemi, the third typhoon of this year, made landfall along the coast of the province on Thursday evening. (JIANG KEHONG/XINHUA)

China's top policymakers called on Thursday for unrelenting efforts in flood control and prevention, stressing that the safety of people's lives must always be the top priority, and all-out efforts must be made in rescue and disaster relief.

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 to study and arrange work related to flood control and disaster relief.

The meeting highlighted severe and complex challenges facing the nation in flood prevention, with significant flooding expected in major river basins including those of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers. Moreover, the onset of typhoons could make the flood control situation even more severe and complex, according to an official readout of the meeting.

The period from late July to early August is the critical period for China's flood prevention efforts, the readout said.

The policymakers called for further improving the means of monitoring and the accuracy of early warnings, enhancing the speed of responses, and evacuating people in risky areas in advance to minimize casualties.

They emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety of major dikes, reservoirs, and infrastructure, enforcing flood control patrol and defense systems, and prioritizing the defense of weak dike sections and vulnerable projects and reservoirs.

Critical infrastructure such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, roads, railways, and key urban underground spaces, bridges, and tunnels must be thoroughly examined for potential risks, with emergency measures in place to ensure safe operations.

All sectors, including the military, armed police force, firefighting departments, and centrally administered State-owned enterprises, are required to remain in emergency readiness, following a unified command to ensure rapid and efficient rescue operations.

Disaster relief funds and supplies should be distributed promptly, and settlement of insurance claims should be accelerated, according to the readout.

The meeting also stressed the importance of the proper resettlement of people affected by disasters, as well as guaranteeing their access to medical care and education when schools open.

Prompt steps should be taken to repair damaged infrastructure in the water conservancy, power, transportation, and communication sectors.

The meeting also called for efforts to minimize agricultural loss, effectively support disaster-stricken residents, and prevent a recurrence of poverty due to disasters.

The leadership meeting came as Typhoon Gaemi, the third typhoon of the year, made its second landfall in Putian, Fujian province, at 7:50 pm on Thursday, bringing strong winds and torrential rains, after its first landing earlier in Taiwan.

The National Meteorological Center issued a red alert — the highest in China's four-tier color-coded weather system — on Thursday morning for the typhoon. As it swept past Taiwan, the typhoon left two people dead and 201 injured, local authorities said.

The typhoon led to serious disruptions to public transportation and train services in Fujian and neighboring provinces. All trains leaving from Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian, were to be suspended on Friday, according to the local railway station. In Guangdong province, high-speed trains bound for Zhejiang and Fujian provinces were suspended on Thursday.

As of 10 am on Thursday, 73 passenger ferry routes including four cross-Strait routes along the coast of Fujian — 203 passenger ferries altogether — had suspended operations.

Han Yanhong of the China Meteorological Administration said at an online news conference on Thursday that heavy winds would hit coastal ports in Taiwan, Fujian, and Zhejiang from Thursday to Friday.

She warned the public of natural disasters such as landslides or mudslides along mountain roads, bridges, and tunnels.