A senior Chinese official Wednesday pointed out that it's a major responsibility of people's governments at all levels to improve the younger generation's awareness of natural disaster reduction.
Li Bengong, director of the Disaster Mitigation and Relief Department under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, stressed that the work of reducing disasters needs the support of the whole society, particularly the younger generation, who are the future and hope of the state.
Li made remarks at a special seminar sponsored by the China National Committee for International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, the Ministry of Education and the Communist Youth League of China Central Committee, to mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction, which this year falls on Oct. 11.
China has experienced numerous disastrous floods, earthquakes and storms since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, and the devastating Tangshan earthquake of 1976 and the horrific flood of 1998 inflicted heavy losses of life and property.
Li said that China is scheduled to step up the construction of disaster reduction projects, improve the capability of disaster-forecasting, and intensify the application of hi-tech know-how such as information technology, in order to better serve the country's economic construction and social development.
The theme of this year's disaster reduction day is forest fire prevention.
(People's Daily 10/11/2000)
