Post-flood projects progressing

Reconstruction work underway in Beijing, Hebei to ensure warm homes for winter

Beijing has formulated plans for promoting post-flood reconstruction projects in areas affected by floods this summer, aiming to ensure warm homes during the winter and a basic recovery within a year.

In late July and early August, rainstorms hit North China and the Yellow and Huaihe river valleys, causing floods and geological disasters, and resulting in heavy casualties in Beijing, neighboring Hebei province and other places.

The affected areas in the capital mainly include the mountainous areas of Fangshan, Mentougou and Changping districts.

As of Saturday, 142 projects related to recovery in those areas were underway. The projects cover residential housing, infrastructure, public services, the ecological environment, village construction and industrial revitalization, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform on Saturday.

Approval departments in the city have conducted joint reviews and coordinated operations to accelerate the completion of the projects.

The post-flood reconstruction plans also include tasks to enhance the city's capabilities in disaster prevention and mitigation, urban drainage, emergency management and meteorological support.

Regarding transportation, more than 100 road reconstruction projects in the capital have started, with a plan to complete all of them before the flood season next year, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport.

Beijing has prioritized the task of ensuring the warmth of affected residents during the winter, vowing to attentively carry out heating system work in flood-stricken areas, according to a top-level conference in the city on Saturday. Relevant districts and departments will be on emergency standby to ensure the normal and safe operation of various heating facilities and equipment, officials noted during the conference.

With all the projects underway, the capital hopes to reach a goal of "basic recovery in one year, comprehensive improvement in three years and long-term high-quality development", according to officials at the conference.

It was stressed at the conference that the city's flood control facilities should at minimum be restored to their pre-disaster levels before the arrival of the flood season next year.

For flood-stricken rural areas, Beijing will take measures to comprehensively promote revitalization in such aspects as industries, talent, culture and ecology.

Efforts will be made to transform the flood-stricken areas into models of safe, high-quality development and livable communities, it was said at the conference.

Ensuring the well-being of flood-affected people has been a top priority in neighboring Hebei, which is also continuing its work in post-flood reconstruction.

According to a conference held in the province on Saturday that was attended by top provincial officials, Hebei will comprehensively investigate the winter living conditions of affected residents and ensure gas and electricity supplies to guarantee that they can live in warm homes during the winter.

The province will also accelerate the reconstruction of houses damaged by floods as well as improvement projects in its flood control engineering system.

The conferences in both Beijing and Hebei came after President Xi Jinping visited severely flood-stricken areas in both places on Friday and met some of those affected. He also inspected and guided post-disaster reconstruction work.

During the visit, he stressed the importance of ensuring that local people live in comfort and have warm homes during the winter. The president also called for more progress to be made in improving flood control and prevention projects, ensuring emergency management services and enhancing the ability to prevent, mitigate and relieve disasters.