Xi chairs meeting on flood control, disaster relief

BEIJING -- The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held a meeting on July 25 to discuss and arrange work related to flood control and disaster relief. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting and delivered an important speech.

It was noted at the meeting that the climate in China this year is relatively unfavorable with a lot more heavy rain that lasted for days. River floods occurred early and developed quickly, and some places were repeatedly hit by heavy rain, making the situation of flood control grim and complex. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, Party committees and governments at all levels acted swiftly and responded with full force. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and all relevant departments and units collaborated and performed their duties. The People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force, national comprehensive firefighting and rescue teams, and various professional rescue forces acted on order and fought flood at the front. A large number of officials and people from all walks of life worked together and united as one to have jointly built a strong defense line to guard homes, achieving important milestone results in flood control and disaster relief for the current stage.

It was stressed at the meeting that at present, China is in the critical period of flood control from late July to early August. The pressure is still high to control flood peak, prevent dikes from being breached, and drain waterlogged fields in the Yangtze River basin, the basins of the Yellow River, Huaihe River, Haihe River, Songhua River and Liaohe River may experience heavier flooding, and the onset of typhoon could make flood control situation even more severe and complex. All relevant regions, departments and units should stay highly vigilant and proactive in flood control to win the tough battle against floods.

The imperative was noted at the meeting to always put the people's lives and safety first, further improve the monitoring means, improve the precision of early warning, strengthen the linkage between early warning and emergency response, make response more speedy, pay more attention to key areas, always keep an eye on how flood control work is done at the primary level, and evacuate residents in risk-ridden areas in advance, so as to minimize casualties. It is imperative to ensure the safety of major dikes, reservoirs and other infrastructure facilities, implement to the letter the system of inspection and defense for flood control, do more to safeguard weak levees, dangerous sections and weak reservoirs, intensify efforts to screen and remove risks, and resolutely prevent dikes from being breached in major rivers, and major as well as key medium-sized reservoirs from collapsing. It is essential to scientifically dispatch flood control projects and make detailed preparations for the use of flood storage and detention areas. It is imperative to further screen risks and hidden dangers in important infrastructure such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, West-to-East gas transmission pipelines, highways, railways, as well as key sites like urban underground spaces, bridges, culverts and tunnels, and to implement emergency response measures to secure their safe operation.

The need was stressed at the meeting to spare no effort in intensifying emergency rescue and disaster relief efforts, strengthening overall planning and preemptive arrangements. The People's Liberation Army, the People's Armed Police Force, fire brigades, the centrally-administered state-owned enterprises, and other forces must be on the alert at all times and under unified command so as to do rescue work in a swift and efficient manner. Disaster relief funds must be allocated in a timely manner, and relief supplies transported without delay. Insurance indemnity must be paid as soon as possible. Arrangements must be made to take good care of those disaster-affected residents, and work must be done to meet their needs for medical treatment and make sure that students can return school as scheduled. It is imperative to repair damaged infrastructure such as water conservancy, electricity, transportation and communications facilities, and organize and lead those affected to resume production and rebuild their homes. Solid efforts must be made in agricultural disaster prevention and reduction to minimize agricultural losses so as to ensure national food security. Work must be done to take care of and assist those disaster-affected residents, preventing them from getting stricken by poverty or falling back to poverty due to disasters.

It is essential to strengthen the capacity for responding to emergencies, improve the capacity for flood control and dealing with waterlogging in urban areas, make up deficiencies in flood prevention projects such as hazardous reservoirs, embankments of small and medium-sized rivers and flood detention basins and draining system of inundated farmlands. It is essential to make good use of the results of the national comprehensive survey of natural disaster risks, and solidify the foundation for emergency response at the primary level and boost strength in this regard, so as to constantly improve the whole society's overall capacity for disaster reduction.

It was required at the meeting that Party committees and governments at all levels must strictly implement the CPC Central Committee's decisions and plans, and take concrete actions to shoulder their political responsibilities of promoting a locality's development and ensuring its security. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters should strengthen coordination, leading officials at all levels should go to the frontline to command flood prevention work, and all relevant parties should cooperate closely to form synergy. Primary-level Party organizations and every Party member and official should play a key, exemplary and vanguard role and step forward to take on tasks at the frontline of rescue and relief, so as to make every effort to protect people's lives and property.

Some other issues were also discussed at the meeting.