Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inspects flood control of the Huaihe River at Wangjiaba in Fuyang, east China's Anhui Province, July 5, 2016. Li Keqiang made an inspection tour in Anhui, Hunan and Hubei provinces on Tuesday and Wednesday to see flood control and disaster relief at first hand. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
From 5 to 6 July, Li Keqiang, Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, made a non-stop visit to Fuyang in Anhui Province, Yueyang in Hunan Province and Wuhan in Hubei Province to inspect flood control and rescue and relief work in areas along the Yangtze River and Huaihe River.
This year's flood season started earlier than before, with intense and large-scale heavy rainfall of long duration. To ensure major rivers and lakes are safe during the flood season and protect people's lives and properties is of extreme importance. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attached great importance to this work. General Secretary Xi Jinping and other leaders of the central leadership have given important instructions and directives on many occasions. Relevant departments of different parts of China have made solid efforts for flood prevention and control. The Huaihe River is a disaster-prone area historically. Premier Li visited the Wangjiaba Dam in Fuyang, Anhui Province. The dam is known as "the most important dam on the one-thousand-kilometer-long Huaihe River". He observed carefully water coming from upstream, inquired about developments in flood situation, and asked working personnel to stay vigilant to such changes and make accurate and timely forecast based on monitoring. Premier Li heard briefings of the head of the Huaihe River Water Conservancy Commission. He said that July and August are critical months for flood control. The harder battle is yet to come. The Commission should always bear safety in mind and never slacken efforts. It should work in a well-coordinated way between the upper stream and lower stream, make good preparation for various kinds of emergencies and gain the initiative in flood control and disaster relief.
Visiting Zhengtaizi embankment in Mengwa flood storage area, Premier Li asked local people about their production and living conditions, as well as food and drug preparation for the flood season. He inquired about measures taken to ensure that the embankment is strong enough. He told local officials that they are in charge of a critical area for flood control in Huaihe River. They need to make sure that priority is always given to people's lives and property, work in advance, and put in place safeguards to make people more confident that they will prevail over the disaster. The Premier said that "the party and the government will continue to give more support and make sure that the flood storage lowland does not become a lowland for people's livelihood".
Baishiling village is an urban village in Yueyang city. Due to continuous heavy rainfall, many houses have been submerged. Premier Li arrived here despite the rainfall, carefully inspecting the flood situation, and asking how the relocation is going. He said that now, many cities have seen floods within the city area. This is due to intense rainfall, and it also reflects a "historical deficit" in urban construction. He asked for efforts to be made to ensure proper settlement for the affected population and for speeding up the renovation of shanty towns and the construction of underground pipeline corridor, in order to address this weakness and "scar" of the city and raise disaster response capacity both overground and underground.
