Census yields raw material for disaster-relief planning

Application of results

"The purpose of the census is the application of results that will benefit various regions," Zheng said, adding that the survey would help improve the country's comprehensive capacity to withstand natural disasters.

Yang said regional government leaders need to know their area's comprehensive disaster risk and the possible human and financial costs, irrespective of whether they are caused by earthquakes, floods or other factors. Thus, government leaders can lower the risk and improve urban planning in line with risk assessments based on data gleaned from specific industries during the census, she added.

Xu Yi, head of disaster reduction at the Beijing Emergency Management Bureau, said data related to property, housing and vulnerable individuals would play an important role in assessing the potential human and financial costs of earthquakes, and as part of the planning for reconstruction efforts in the wake of a disaster.

By utilizing the census' highly integrated national data, the capital has launched two rounds of "comprehensive assessments and inspections of the risk-prevention-and-control capacity of key regions and facilities", including the power grid, the Olympic Park and the Beijing Universal Resort, he said.

The bureau issued a comprehensive evaluation report on the risk of natural disasters in the areas used for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, based on census data, and delivered a number of safety-guarantee suggestions to the organizing committee.

Zheng said that in addition to specific events, the government is exploring how to apply the housing data disaster-risk assessments obtained from the census to the renovation of old residential buildings and dilapidated rural housing nationwide.

Authorities that oversee water resources are attempting to improve local flood-reduction-and-response systems, based on information gleaned from the census, he added.

Meanwhile, a growing number of cities are entering census data in their online emergency-response platforms, he said.

Zheng added that policymakers in Nan'an city, Fujian province, are able to use their own platform to check the situation regarding hazardous enterprises, disaster-relief teams, material reserves and disaster-avoidance locations across the city.