Xi stresses people-centered approach to disaster relief

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed that the approach to flood control and disaster relief work should be people-centered and urged for all-out efforts to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark while instructing the flood control and disaster relief work that has become necessary as rainstorms have hit many regions across the country this month, triggering landslides and flooding rivers.

A man drives a tractor on a flooded street in Harbin City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, July 19, 2018. /VCG Photo

Noting that China has entered flood and typhoon season, Xi urged CPC committees and governments of related regions to firmly adhere to this people-centered approach, to carry out rescue and relief work at full strength, minimize casualties, properly arrange people's lives in disaster areas and minimize disaster losses.

Since July this year, rainstorms have hit many regions, triggering flooding of rivers, including the Yangtze, Yellow, Jialing, Tuojiang, and Fujiang rivers.

As of July 18, a total of 20.53 million people in 27 provincial-level regions had been affected by flooding with 54 dead and eight missing. Flooding has also affected 1.759 million hectares of cropland and flattened 23,000 houses, inflicting direct economic losses of 51.6 billion yuan (7.6 billion US dollars).

Xi ordered the local authorities of relevant regions to strengthen emergency duties, fulfill responsibilities, and refine planned measures to ensure disasters can be addressed quickly.

A statue of the famous Chinese poet Su Shi from the Song Dynasty in a park in Yibin, China's Sichuan Province was broken by the flood on July 18, 2018. /VCG Photo

Monitoring and early warnings systems for meteorological, flooding, and geological disasters should be enhanced and inspections of major areas should be increased to prevent direct and indirect disasters, Xi said.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Emergency Management should coordinate all social forces and resources, and guide local governments in carrying out relief work and make all-out efforts to ensure the safety of people's lives, property and social stability, Xi said.

Flood-hit regions have launched emergency responses and taken all efforts to relocate people and repair facilities. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ministry of Emergency Management have all dispatched teams to lead relief work in flood-hit areas.

(Cover: Soldiers are clearing mud from clogging the water in Neijiang, Sichuan Province, southwest China, July 13, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency