Chinese Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu underscored the concept of scientific development that puts people in the first place in disaster prevention and relief work at a recent meeting held by the state disaster relief commission.

"We must realize that China's present disaster relief work has much room to improve in coping with natural disasters in terms of policies and mechanisms," Hui, also the head of the commission, said at the meeting, when speaking of the recent Indian Ocean's tsunami, which runs alarm to China.

Hui said that China is a country threatened by a lot of natural disasters, so the disaster prevention and relief work plays a very important role in safeguarding the safety of the country's economic development and people's lives.

China should take scientific measures including establishing an early warning system to tackle with potential mishaps, Hui added.

The commission has also set up an expert committee on disaster prevention and relief.

Source: Xinhua