Xi stresses prioritizing people's safety
Stranded train passengers line up to board a bus at Zhengzhou East Railway Station inZhengzhou,Henanprovince, on Wednesday. The city has been lashed by record rainfall, which has halted rail 服务s. Buses transferred the stranded passengers to a rest center in the city, and the number of people at the railway station had fallen significantly by Wednesday morning. The heavy rain inHenanwas expected to last until July 21, according to forecasts. LI AN/XINHUA
Thousands of soldiers, firefighters sent to flood-hit areas ofHenanprovince to assist in relief effort
President Xi Jinping has urged all-out efforts to carry out flood prevention and rescue work to protect people's lives and property, requiring officials at various levels to work on the front line to speedily mobilize all available resources.
In an instruction released on Wednesday, Xi mentioned the heavy rains that hit some regions in the past few days, which have caused flooding inZhengzhou, theHenanprovincial capital, and other cities. The water level of some rivers in the area has risen above the alert level, some reservoirs are at risk of collapse, rail 服务s have been suspended and flights canceled.
So far, the rainfall that 有 hit Henan since Friday has left at least 25 people dead and 7 missing.
People affected by the rainfall should be resettled in a proper way and every effort should be made to reduce deaths and injuries as well as property losses to the greatest possible extent, said Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.
While asking the People's Liberation Army and armed police forces to help local governments in the rescue operation, Xi also urged relevant ministries under the State Council to strengthen coordination, intensify efforts in risk identification, reinforce the security of key infrastructure facilities and enhance their alert systems, and improve prediction of heavy rains, typhoons, floods and mudslides.
The State Council also called on Wednesday for the mobilization of rescuers and the sending of funds and materials to support disaster relief inHenan, according to a news release from an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.
In addition to intensifying patrols on rivers and reservoirs to identify safety hazards, local governments should also ramp up early warnings, step up precautionary measures to ensure people's safety and minimize losses, the news release said.
About 5,700 soldiers, armed police officers and militia personnel had been mobilized to support the disaster relief work inHenanas of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Central Theater Command of the PLA.
About 1,800 firefighters have also been sent by the Ministry of Emergency Management from other regions to disaster-stricken areas in the province.
Torrential rains since Friday inHenanhave affected over 1.2 million residents in the province and forced the relocation of more than 160,000 people, according to the province's Department of Emergency Management.
Direct economic losses caused by the downpours have exceeded 542 million yuan ($83.8 million), Xu Zhong, an official from the department, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Among the dead, at least 12 were passengers trapped in the Zhengzhou Metro system's Subway Line 5 on Tuesday.
Tao Yi, a 30-year-old woman who was traveling on Line 5, said it took her several hours to get out of one of the flooded stations.
She said subway workers told her that the water rose to people's chests in some of the worst affected subway cars.
"I was still frightened when I arrived home at night," she said. "But people are very warmhearted, and we offered help to each other."
TheNationalMeteorologicalCentersaidZhengzhoureceived 201.9 millimeters of rain between 4 pm and 5 pm on Tuesday, breaking the record for hourly precipitation in the country's land areas.
The torrential rains are forecast to continue wreaking havoc in the coming three days in the northern parts ofHenanand southern areas ofHebeiprovince. Downpours will also hit some areas in another five provincial regions, includingShanxiandYunnan, according to the center.
The continuous rains in northernHenanwill swell five major rivers and cause flooding of some medium-sized and small rivers in the area, the Ministry of Water Resources warned on Wednesday.
The ministry upgraded its emergency response for flooding to Grade 3, the third-highest in a four level system.
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记者:候黎强、曹德胜
播报:Corrie Knight
音频编辑:万月英
【背景阅读】
习近平对防汛jiu灾工作作出重要指示:始终把保障人民群众生命财产安全放在第一位
新华社北京7月21日电 中共中央总书记、国家主席、军委主席习近平对防汛jiu灾工作作出重要指示。
习近平指出,近日,河南等地持续遭遇强降雨,郑州等城市发生严重内涝,一些河流出现超警水位,个别水库溃坝,部分铁路停运、航班取消,造成重大人员伤亡和财产损失,防汛形势十分严峻。
习近平强调,当前已进入防汛关键期,各级领导干部要始终把保障人民群众生命财产安全放在第一位,身先士卒、靠前指挥,迅速组织力量防汛jiu灾,妥善安置受灾群众,严防次生灾害,最大限度减少人员伤亡和财产损失。解放军和武警部队要积极协助地方开展抢险jiu灾工作。国家防总、应急管理部、水利部、交通运输部要加强统筹协调,强化灾害隐患xun查排险,加强重要基础设施安全防护,提高降雨、台风、山洪、泥石流等预警预报水平,加大交通疏导力度,抓细抓实各项防汛jiu灾措施。
习近平要求,各地区各有关部门要在做好防汛jiu灾工作的同时,尽快恢复生产生活秩序,扎实做好受灾群众帮扶救助和卫生防疫工作,防止因灾返贫和“大灾之后有大疫”。
河南暴雨致25人死亡7人失联 124万人受灾
新华社郑州7月21日电 记者7月21日从河南省防汛应急新闻发布会上获悉,据不完全统计,16日以来,此轮强降雨造成河南89个县(市、区)560个乡镇1240737人受灾,因极值暴雨致25人死亡、7人失联。全省已紧急避险转移16325人,紧急转移安置164710人。
河南省防汛抗旱指挥部办公室主任徐忠说,此轮强降雨造成农作物受灾面积75千公顷,成灾面积25.2千公顷,绝收面积4.7千公顷。直接经济损失54228.72万元。
据介绍,17日8时至21日14时,河南省出现历史罕见的持续性强降水天气过程,全省各地市均出现暴雨,北中部出现大暴雨特大暴雨。全省平均降水量150.5毫米,地市平均降水量最大为郑州461.7毫米,最大降水站点出现在新密市白寨931.5毫米。
受本次降雨影响,目前,河南省共有白沙、小南海、河口村、昭平台等9座大型水库、40座中型水库超汛限水位,贾鲁河、沙颍河、洪汝河出现涨水过程。郑州常庄水库出现一次特大洪水过程,目前水库水位在平稳回落。
强降雨造成郑州市城区严重内涝,地铁停运,铁路、公路、min航运输受到严重影响。郑西、郑太、郑徐及普速陇海线、焦柳线、宁西线、京广线部分区段封锁或限速运行,7趟列车停运,15趟列车折返。国道209鲁山段、310灵宝段出现路面塌陷,交通中断。
徐忠说,河南省军区协调解放军730人、民兵690人,武警出动1159人、消防出动6760人次参加抢险jiu灾。
河南省气象台副台长苏爱芳表示,预计到22日14时,河南大部仍有中到大雨,其中河南中部和北部有暴雨到大暴雨,河南西北部地区有特大暴雨(250—270毫米)。郑州有暴雨、局地大暴雨,累计60—100毫米。
“预计今明两天河南降雨仍将持续,致灾风险极高,各地需继续做好洪涝、地质灾害、城市内涝灾害防御以及河堤、库坝等的xun查工作,并防范强降雨对jiu灾各项工作的不利影响,同时做好卫生防疫工作,此外淮河、海河流域需密切关注上游来水情况。”苏爱芳说。