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Quake Monitoring, Disaster Prevention Urged
Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao has stressed that governments at all levels should pay attention to earthquake disaster prevention and relief, and that earthquake monitoring and forecasting should be enhanced.
Addressing a national conference on earthquake disaster prevention and relief, which was held in Tangshan of Hebei Province from May 12 to 14, Wen said that more efforts should be made to improve earthquake monitoring and forecasts, earthquake disaster prevention and emergency rescues so that human and economic losses will be reduced once earthquakes strike.
Over the past 50 years, China has achieved notable progress in preventing earthquake disasters and relief work, which has played an important role in the country's socialist modernization drive.
So far, earthquake monitoring networks have been established at national, provincial and regional levels, and monitoring stations have been set up across the nation, Wen said.
Legal build-up in the field has also recorded progress. The country has already promulgated a number of earthquake-related laws and regulations, such as the law on precautions against earthquakes and disaster relief.
In the meantime, earthquake disaster prevention technologies have been widely adopted in the country's new buildings.
The vice-premier also noted that Chinese scientists have worked hard and achieved a lot of breakthroughs in earthquake monitoring and forecasts, which has helped to greatly reduce the loss of human life and economic losses.
However, some problems still exist in the monitor of earthquakes and disaster relief which falls behind China's modernization drive, the vice-premier said.
In some places, government officials have not paid enough attention to the work of earthquake monitoring and disaster relief. The public knows little about earthquake disaster prevention, and buildings in some areas are not strong enough to combat earthquakes.
While outlining the guiding principle of earthquake disaster prevention and relief, the vice-premier stressed that major efforts should be put on earthquake disaster prevention.
Earthquake monitoring and forecasts, especially the short-term forecasts in population-intensive regions, economically developed areas and places that are most vulnerable to earthquake should be further strengthened, Wen said.
In the meantime, measures should be taken to build up a capable emergency rescue system that responds quickly to the needs of those in disaster-hit areas, the vice-premier said.
During the conference, held in Tangshan where a strong quake claimed more than 200,000 lives in 1976, delegates from various regions and departments exchanged views and experiences in earthquake disaster prevention and relief. They also visited the Anti-Earthquake Museum and anti-earthquake buildings in the city.
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