Ren Zhenhe, deputy secretary of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, on Tuesday called for greater efforts to ensure the safety of people's lives and property as the province has launched emergency response to the ongoing rainy season. He made the remarks when going on an inspection tour in Nanjing on flood control and rescue.
Ren Zhenhe said the important instructions made by General Secretary Xi Jinping on flood control and rescue has reflected the people-first development thinking and the people-oriented concept.
More rainstorms have been reported since June in many parts of Jiangsu, triggering floods and geological disasters.
As many places in the province have entered the flood season, with some facing tough situations amid the approaching typhoon season, Ren required the authorities in Nanjing to strengthen coordination and provide effective guidance in flood and typhoon prevention.
He urged natural resources and meteorology departments to enhance monitoring and early warnings, improving their accuracy and coverage, while emergency rescue teams should be prepared for disaster relief efforts.
Ren Zhenhe stressed the need to put people first, and value people's lives most in the combat against floods.
He also underscored the necessity to coordinate epidemic prevention with flood control and disaster relief work, combine prevention preparations with emergency response, strengthen flood monitoring, and promptly identify risks.
The deputy secretary of the CPC Provincial Committee required all-out efforts are demanded from relevant departments to organize emergency rescue and disaster relief, help the afflicted get back on their feet, maintain social and production orders in the disaster areas, and make solid efforts to ensure people's lives and safety as the top priority.
Affected by the heavy rainfall, four water conservancy stations in Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Jiangyin and Nantong on Tuesday reported surging water level that went past the warning mark.
The provincial department of water conservancy raised the flooding response levels Monday noon as heavy rains continued. A yellow response level is issued for the Taihu Lake.
The water levels in local rivers and lakes will keep rising as the rainfall continues for the next week or so.
Flood control departments have been ordered to keep on standby round the clock so as to be able to respond emergencies in the earliest possible time.
China's national observatory on Tuesday renewed its yellow alert for rainstorms as incessant downpours continue to wreak havoc across vast stretches of the country.
From Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning, heavy rain and rainstorms are expected in the regions including Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan and Heilongjiang, the National Meteorological Center said.
Some of these regions will see up to 70 mm of hourly precipitation accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds, the center said.
Local authorities are advised to remain alert for possible flooding, landslides and mudslides, and halting outdoor operations in hazardous areas is recommended.
China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Since June, continuous downpours have lashed large parts of southern China, and the waters of many rivers in the affected regions have exceeded warning levels.
China on Saturday upgraded its emergency response for flood control from level IV to level III amid the incessant downpours.
China has a four-tier flood control emergency response system, with level I representing the most severe.
