Photo: PLA Daily
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged all-out efforts to ensure the safety of people's lives and property in the fight against floods and geological disasters caused by heavy rainfalls that are currently affecting some parts of China. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has made an important instruction regarding flood control and disaster relief work, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the People's Armed Police Force (PAPF) troops, along with militia members, responded swiftly to orders and were immediately mobilized for flood control, emergency rescue, and disaster relief operations, the People's Liberation Army Daily reported in an article published on Tuesday.
In recent days, multiple regions across China have been hit by continuous heavy rainfall, triggering floods and geological disasters that have resulted in significant casualties and property losses in places such as Beijing, Hebei, Jilin, and Shandong provinces.
On Monday morning, officers and soldiers from a unit of the First Mobile Corps of the PAPF rushed to Taotiaogou village in Zhenzhuquan Township, in Beijing's suburban Yanqing district, which had lost contact with the outside world. The road to the village had been washed away by a mountain torrent. After a two-hour trek, the they reached the village and safely evacuated 18 trapped residents, the PLA Daily reported.
Multiple emergencies also occurred in areas such as Sibao Road in Yanqing district. The same unit quickly deployed more than 20 sets of large-scale machinery to the site to clear landslide debris. That night, troops were dispatched again to reinforce embankments along the Chaohe River downstream of the Miyun Reservoir in Beijing.
The PAPF Beijing Corps has mobilized over 1,800 officers and soldiers to deliver supplies to Fengjiayu Township in Miyun district, evacuate residents from Mujiaoyu Township, reinforce embankments along the Chaohe River, and set up emergency shelters in Yanqi Township and Liuli Temple Township in Huairou district. As of press time, over 4,000 residents had been relocated, more than 2,000 boxes of emergency supplies delivered, and over 30,000 sandbags filled.
On Monday evening, more than 500 officers and soldiers from the Beijing Garrison Command braved the rain to rush to the newly built Ningcun Bridge in Miyun district, where they worked overnight to reinforce the riverbank embankments.
Heavy rains also triggered disasters in parts of North China's Hebei Province. Upon receiving orders, the PLA command in Hebei mobilized over 1,700 troops and militia members for emergency rescue.
In Xigou village of Luanping County, in the city of Chengde, a landslide cut off communications with the affected area. Over 280 troops and militia members were dispatched to the disaster site to restore roads and bridges and evacuate residents.
Militia teams were also organized in Kangbao County of Zhangjiakou, Sanhe of Langfang, and Fuping County of Baoding in Hebei to assist in flood discharge, supply transport, and post-disaster cleanup.
Troops from a unit of the PLA Northern Theater Command Air Force, together with the Inner Mongolia Corps of the PAPF and professional emergency rescue teams, have been fully engaged in rescue and relief efforts in disaster-hit areas of Hohhot, Baotou, and Ordos in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
In Duliuba village in Hohhot, a flood control dike collapsed, posing a serious threat to nearby residents. Upon receiving the order, a task unit from the Northern Theater Command Air Force rushed to the disaster site and complete tasks including embankment reinforcement.
Global Times
