China continues disaster-prevention efforts to combat floods, typhoons

Firefighters clear a road lashed by floods in Shangzhi City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Aug. 11, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities on Sunday held a video conference to discuss the rain, water and geological disaster situations in the country, as well as potential influences and impacts caused by typhoons.

The meeting was co-organized by the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management, and was joined by the China Meteorological Administration, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The meeting made arrangements to guard against floods and typhoons, especially in key places such as Tianjin, Liaoning, Chongqing and Shaanxi.

Water levels in some areas of the Songhua River are still beyond the warning marks, while a flooding situation continues to exist in the Haihe River Basin, the meeting noted.

From Sunday to Monday, heavy rainfall will lash the northeastern, northwestern and southwestern parts of the country, with some areas expecting severe convective weather.

The meeting urged relevant provinces to beef up patrol, defense and emergency rescue forces, scientifically investigate and eliminate risks, and speed up the restoration of embankments.

China has maintained a level-II emergency response to flooding in Tianjin, a level-III emergency response to flooding in Beijing, Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin, and a level-IV emergency response to both flooding and a typhoon in Liaoning.

The working teams dispatched in the early stages will continue to assist with local flood and typhoon prevention measures in the aforementioned areas.