Premier Li stresses protecting lives in flood zone

Premier Li Keqiang visits Wuhan's Yangtze River embankment on Wednesday, July 6, 2016. [Photo by Liu Zhen/China News Service]

The rainfall in Wuhan city has exceeded 600mm in one week, leading to the rapid rise of water levels of the Yangtze River and Han River, both of which have passed the warning line. The non-stop torrential rains have caused piping in one section of the main embankment in the city along the Yangtze River.

Premier Li went to the site and inquired about the situation on the ground from soldiers of the People's Liberation Army, armed police, water conservancy workers and other personnel fighting on the front line and asked them whether there exist fresh risks in the surrounding areas.

Li said that taking care of a densely-populated area means heavy responsibilities. "Although the embankment is much more solid than before, we still should not drop our alert," he said. "Even one ant hole may cause the collapse of a solid dyke.

This piping incident is a cause of alarm for us. We are in a critical period for flood control. It is imperative to fill up all loopholes and guard against invisible perils, cement the embankment and gather useful experience. We need to remove all hidden dangers and ensure the safety of the people."

The water level of the Longwangmiao section of the Yangtze River has passed the warning line and is above the city roadbed. Wading through the river water, Premier Li inspected the embankment consolidation and material preparation.

He said that for flood control, "prevention is the foundation, control is the key, while people is at the core". "It is important to strengthen patrol and inspection, remove risks and leave nothing to chance. We must ensure safety for the tens of millions of citizens in Wuhan. Having withstood the test of massive flooding in the past, we are in a better position with greater confidence to safeguard our homeland. " Li said.

"The central government will lose no time in allocating flood prevention and disaster relief funds in support of local efforts. We will guide different parts of China to make accurate early warnings, set aside adequate materials, make available a strong task force, take prompt actions in response to emergency and work in concert to win the hard battle of flood control this year." Li added.

Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jing also took part in the inspection tour.