Beijing - China published an official report Monday on last
year's devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province, on the eve of the
quake's first anniversary, a date that will be marked as Disaster
Prevention and Reduction Day.
The official Xinhua news agency said the official white paper,
released by the State Council, or cabinet, shed light on the
disaster-prevention work by the government and the public.
Xinhua said the May 12, 2008 magnitude-8.0 quake, with the
epicenter in Wenchuan of south-west China's Sichuan Province, left
more than 87,000 people dead or missing and more than 374,640 injured.
'China is one of the countries that experiences the most natural
disasters,' the report said. 'More than 70 per cent of Chinese cities
and more than 50 per cent of the Chinese population are living in
areas vulnerable to serious earthquakes, or meteorological,
geological or marine disasters.'
Climate change, economic growth and urbanization have put
increased pressure on China's resources and environment, it said.
The job of preventing and reacting to natural disasters has become
'more serious and complicated,' the white paper said. 'The mechanisms
to coordinate and integrate aid efforts are not yet sufficient,' it
added.
The country has developed a disaster control and response system
in line with China's realities, it said. Local authorities are asked
to develop emergency plans, conduct regular drills, set up safety
zones for the public in parks or sports stadiums and improve
information on how to react to disasters.
'The earthquake has shown how badly we are prepared for potential
dangers. Many people did not know how to react or give first aid,'
Wang Qizahang, a high-ranking official of the Sichuan provincial
government was quoted as saying by the China Daily.
'We have to learn our lessons and improve people's awareness and
their abilities to protect themselves.'
In a likely reaction to the wave of public outrage over the large
number of schools that collapsed during the Sichuan quake, all
schools countrywide are to be made earthquake proof and new building
regulations entered into force this month.
It is believed that shoddy construction work led to the collapse
of many school buildings, leading to the loss of the lives of 5,335
school children, according to official numbers.
Parents and activists, however, say the number is much higher.
The white paper not only deals with earthquakes but also with
other disasters, which every year directly affect around 300 million
Chinese.
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