Chinese experts' advice to help Pakistan in rehabilitation of flood-hit areas: official

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan (NDMA) Inam Haider Malik said his country would benefit from the advice of the visiting Chinese flood control expert group in the rehabilitation process of flood-hit people.

Speaking at a meeting with the delegation on Friday, Lt. Gen. Malik said that Pakistan has a colossal work at hand, but with the help of the Chinese experts and learning from their experiences the country will come up outstandingly to tackle the problem and do something better for the next phase of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

The 11 experts sent by the Chinese government arrived in Pakistan on Oct. 11 and concluded their inspection and exchange activities in Pakistan on Oct. 21.

The expert group, which is organized by China's Ministry of Emergency Management, covered six fields including hydrology, meteorology, rescue and relief, disaster assessment, flood control planning, and flood control management.

Xu Xianbiao, head of the Chinese delegation, shared China's experience in flood control and disaster reduction and provided the Pakistani side with preliminary advice and suggestions for recent disaster relief and medium- and long-term enhancement of flood control and disaster reduction capabilities.

The delegation visited the country's worst-hit south Sindh province for inspection on Oct. 15-17.

The delegation met the country's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his cabinet on Wednesday and shared their impression of the situation in the aftermath of the floods.

During the meeting, Sharif asked China to help his country in disaster management and make it self-reliant in disaster management.

The death toll from this season's monsoon rain and floods since mid-June has risen to 1,719 along with 12,867 injuries in Pakistan, according to the NDMA.