Chinese premier stresses fight against fire, flood, drought

BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed the importance of doing a good job in forest and grassland fire prevention as well as the fight against flood and drought.

The country should step up efforts to guard against and defuse risks and focus on eliminating major hidden dangers, Li said, instructing a nationwide teleconference held on Thursday.

China will pinpoint the responsibilities in different links of forest and grassland fire prevention and extinguishing and enhance comprehensive fire prevention, control and rescue capabilities to prevent major fire accidents, Li said.

The country must make solid preparations for flood and drought prevention and response and speed up the improvement of water conservancy infrastructure, he said.

Li also called for better organization and coordination, better laws, regulations and plan and better monitoring and early warning, emergency command and rapid rescue mechanisms.

State Councilor Wang Yong, also commander-in-chief of the national headquarters for forest and grassland fire prevention and for the fight against flood and drought, attended the conference, calling for a better job in disaster prevention and emergency rescue to minimize possible losses.

Wang said local authorities and related departments should thoroughly investigate and rectify hidden risks, strengthen monitoring and early warning of disasters and make thorough preparations for prevention and response.