China to lower death toll caused by natural disasters

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China plans to see an "obvious decrease" in the death toll caused by natural disasters in the next five years, the State Council, or Cabinet, said Thursday.

The annual direct economic losses caused by natural disasters should be controlled at less than 1.5 percent of the country's annual GDP from 2011 to 2015, according to the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) on disaster relief circulated by the State Council.

It must be guaranteed that all people who survive disasters have access to food, water, clothes, medical aid and shelter within 24 hours, the plan said.

To achieve the target, the State Council promised to improve the country's natural disaster monitoring and response systems, and raise public awareness of disaster prevention and reduction.

The government will train some 2.75 million people for the country's disaster rescue and relief work to enable each community in rural and urban areas to have one disaster information clerk.

Data collected from disaster monitoring networks covering meteorology, hydrology, earthquakes as well as agriculture, forestry, ocean, grasslands and wildlife will be shared, it said.

Moreover, the central government will also strengthen and improve disaster reporting and verification systems of local governments, especially below the county level.

To encourage all social circles to participate in disaster relief in an efficient manner, the government will enhance its ability of social mobilization, according to the plan.

The government will give full play to non-governmental organizations (NGO), charities and grassroots voluntary associations in disaster prevention, emergency rescue, reconstruction and post-disaster psychological counseling, it said.

The plan also pledged to enhance scientific research on disaster prevention and reduction, especially early warning ability and interaction among all sectors.

From January to October, natural disasters left approximately 1,090 people dead or missing and affected more than 480 million people in China.