Op-Ed Contributors

Taking disaster prevention seriously

By Chen Longxiang (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-29 07:50

A string of natural disasters has ravaged the mainland, from the serious southwestern drought early this year to the Yushu earthquake in April and widespread floods at present. These have tested the will of the Chinese.

Premier Wen Jiabao has called for officials to prepare for more serious floods and disasters as the nation braces itself for the worst flooding in a decade.

Rain-triggered flooding has affected nearly 113 million people in 27 provinces and municipalities. The latest statistics from the State's Office of Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters indicate floods in China this year left 823 people dead and 437 missing as of Monday morning, with direct economic losses of 154 billion yuan ($22.6 billion).

The violent floods have brought back memories of severe Yangtze River flooding in southern China in 1998, when 230 million residents were affected, 3,656 killed and 20.44 million displaced.

As a result of global climate change, we are witnessing more and more extreme climate cases that have engendered numerous natural disasters. However, abnormal natural phenomena cannot serve as the only scapegoat for the significant losses to lives and property.

We should also examine the man-made factors behind those disasters, such as reckless ecological destruction, unscientific urban construction and project-related corruption in water control programs, etc.

Reclaiming land from lakes caused large-scale shrinkage of natural lakes, which lowered their capacity to regulate water flows in rivers. Thanks to huge investment and years of effort, the capability of major rivers in controlling floods has been improved substantially.

However, the upgradation and maintenance of many medium and small-sized tributaries and reservoirs have been neglected. Meanwhile, serious water loss and soil erosion has also aggravated flood prevention measures.

Due to the nation's speedy economic growth and urbanization, many plans and development projects that only seek quick success and instant benefits have damaged the environment and lowered the capacity of natural hydrology systems in self-regulating floods. The nature's capacity to bear abnormalities is declining.

In addition, many cities have suffered water logging due to the unscientific design of drainage systems and urban expansion that has occupied river courses.

While facing catastrophes, we Chinese are fully aware that hardship can make a country stronger, but man-made disasters cannot be condoned, particularly "jerry-built projects" on riverbanks, Wu Longgui argued in Beijing Youth Daily.

It has been reported that not long ago the Fuhe River breached its bank at the Changkai section, threatening the lives and properties of about 100,000 local residents. Currently, 17 dikes in Jiangxi province are in danger because of the rising flood.