Plan for China flood emergencies as risk rises, Politburo Standing Committee tells cadres
- Chinese Communist Party’s highest decision-making body issues orders as Super Typhoon Gaemi reaches mainland’s coast and weather service declares red alert
Communist Party cadres across China must work tirelessly to “resolutely prevent” infrastructure failures and prepare for emergencies as the risk of severe flooding increases, the party’s top leadership warned on Thursday.
The warning was issued at a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee, chaired by President Xi Jinping, where cadres were told that they must “always be on high alert and take initiative” in flood control efforts, state media reported.
“[We must] do everything we can to prevent the breaching of embankments of major rivers and the collapse of dams at large and key reservoirs,” a read-out of the meeting said.
“[We must] check all hidden risks and dangers of all essential infrastructures such as the north-south water diversion canals, east-west gas pipelines, motorways and railways, as well as key points such as urban underground spaces, bridges and tunnels, and implement emergency measures to ensure safe operation,” it said.
The seven-member Politburo Standing Committee is the Chinese Communist Party’s highest decision-making body. July and August usually mark the start of the active typhoon season in China, and the meeting came after several recent major infrastructure emergencies.
Earlier this month, Dongting Lake in Hunan province, China’s second largest freshwater lake, suffered a dyke breach that led to the evacuation of at least 7,000 residents. Last week, more than a dozen people died when a highway bridge collapsed in a flash flood in Shaanxi province.
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