11 years on A new start for China's emergency response

BEIJING,May 9,2019 -- A news report by China.org.cn on China's emergency response:

 

China is a country profoundly impacted by natural disasters.

On May 12,2008,a devastating earthquake hit Wenchuan county in southwestern China's Sichuan province. It inflicted massive casualties and caused immeasurable material loss and mental suffering to the region and the country.

Drawing lessons from this bitter experience,in the past 11 years,China has made great progress in the development of disaster prevention and mitigation procedures. The country began to pool resources to reduce rather than only relieving disasters. Significant advances have been made in various fields,including institutional development,academic research,technical equipment manufacturing,medical treatment,international cooperation and public education.

In April 2011,China's ICL earthquake early warning system successfully sent out a first alert,making the country the third in the world,after Japan and Mexico,to have this early warning capability. To date,the system has successfully alerted experts to more than 10 destructive earthquakes.

In 2018,the China International Emergency Medical Team (in Sichuan) was classified as a Type 3 emergency medical team by the World Health Organization. This is the highest level in WHO's EMT initiative,and the team was the second in the world to obtain such a status.

The "big move" in institutional reform has also grabbed nationwide attention. In March of 2018,China established the Ministry of Emergency Management,integrating related functions of 13 different departments. Previous experiences had demonstrated China's lack of unified strength and collective efficiency in emergency response scenarios,but now the establishment of the Ministry of Emergency Management has improved the situation on an institutional level. Specifically,a single department is responsible for prevention,response and rescue,as well as post-monitoring of emergencies. With its ongoing development,the Ministry of Emergency Management will gather the concerted efforts of the whole country to further improve China's ability to respond to natural disasters in the future.

Although nature shows no mercy,every single step made in disaster prevention,reduction and relief will translate to improved safety and greater protection of life and property.

China Mosaic

http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

11 years on A new start for China's emergency response

http://www.china.org.cn/video/2019-05/09/content_74766539.htm

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