Scientists are to develop technology within the next three years
that will allow the authorities to respond to potential large-scale
natural disasters, according to a blueprint recently released by
the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).
Earthquakes, floods, landslides, mudslides, rainstorms, tsunamis
and other natural disasters have been occurring with increasing
frequency because of climate change in recent years. The
probability of floods in the southern part of the country and
drought in parts of the north is higher this year than at any other
time in the last decade, said sources with the Ministry of Water
Resources.
Such disasters have been given priority in the research and
development of disaster-response technologies, according to the
blueprint. Designed to guide the application of science to social
progress during the 11th Five-year Plan (2006-10) period, the
blueprint was released by the MOST at the end of last month during
its national convention on science and social development.
It called for studies of flood forecasting, river monitoring and
crisis management. Technologies will be developed to ensure the
safety of dams in case of big floods, it noted.
As for earthquakes, research efforts are to center not only on
prevention, but also on rescue operations, according to the
blueprint. New technologies will give the authorities access to
information about earthquakes as soon as possible after they
strike.
The causes of disastrous landslides will also be investigated
during the 11th Five-year Plan, and the losses caused by such
incidents are to be appraised on a more scientific basis, said the
blueprint.
The country has a "very serious situation in fighting against
floods and droughts this year," E Jingping, vice-minister of water
resources, told the press last month.
Heavy rainfall is expected along the middle reaches of the
Yangtze River and also in North China. Meanwhile, drought could
affect northwest China and northeast China's Heilongjiang
Province.
The Yangtze and Songhua rivers and Taihu Lake are at risk of
major floods, and the Haihe and Yellow rivers, which have seen
their water levels decline several times during the last several
decades, may also be the source of flooding this year, he said.
There is also a possibility that strong typhoons could hit the
coast, he added.
Natural disasters caused direct economic losses of 253 billion
yuan (US$32.4 billion) last year, which was 24 percent more than in
2005. There were 14 earthquakes that rated higher than five on the
Richter Scale, affecting some 667,000 people, according to the
National Bureau of Statistics.
(China Daily May 8, 2007)