Flood Prevention, Drought Relief and Disaster Reduction in China By H. E. Mr.CHEN Lei Minister of Water Resources, P.R. China March 19th, 2009

Flood Prevention, Drought Relief and Disaster Reduction in China

ByH. E. Mr.CHEN Lei

Minister of Water Resources, P.R. China

March 19th, 2009

Pressing tasks shared by most countries in the worldPressing tasks shared by most countries in the world

Critical issues of Critical issues of universal global universal global

concernconcern

Critical issues of Critical issues of universal global universal global

concernconcern

Prevention of mega natural disasters

Safeguarding people’s lives and properties

Effective management of water infrastructure projects

Ensuring sustainable socioeconomic development

Warmest Welcome to

Ministers;

Officials, scholars and experts; and

Friends from international organizations

Floods and droughts as the severest natural disasters

China’s main achievements in flood

control and drought relief

Measures and suggestions for better

flood control and drought relief

I.

II.

III.

Worldwide

Floods and droughts occur frequently, causing heavy property

losses and casualties. Between 1991 and 2005, more than 3,300

floods, windstorms and droughts were reported worldwide.

Floods and droughts occur frequently, causing heavy property

losses and casualties. Between 1991 and 2005, more than 3,300

floods, windstorms and droughts were reported worldwide.

floodflood wind stormwind storm droughtdrought slideslide

earthquake&tsunami

earthquake&tsunami othersothers

64% of all natural disasters

64% of all natural disasters

more than 3,300 floods and droughts

more than 3,300 floods and droughts

affected population accounting for 98% of the total

affected population accounting for 98% of the total

3.4billion cumulative affected population

3.4billion cumulative affected population

Worldwide

floodflood wind stormwind storm droughtdrought slideslide

earthquake&tsunami

earthquake&tsunami othersothers

77% of total losses caused by

natural disasters

77% of total losses caused by

natural disasters

916.7 billion Yuan losses caused by floods and

droughts

916.7 billion Yuan losses caused by floods and

droughts

43% of total

deaths caused by

natural disasters

43% of total

deaths caused by

natural disasters

A cumulative death toll of 410,000

A cumulative death toll of 410,000

Year-by-year Increase of Flood and drought Disasters

1970-2005 Frequency of Natural Disasters

FloodFlood

droughtdrought

WindstormWindstorm

02468101214

Af ri ca Ameri cas Asi a Europe Oceani a

010000200003000040000500006000070000


AfricaAfrica

AsiaAsia

EuropeEurope OceaniaOceania

AmericasAmericas

AsiaAsia

0100200300400500600700


AsiaAsia

AsiaAsia

Eco

no

mic

Lo

sses

(US

$ b

illio

n)

Eco

no

mic

Lo

sses

(US

$ b

illio

n)

Aff

ecte

d p

op

ula

tio

n(m

illio

n)

Aff

ecte

d p

op

ula

tio

n(m

illio

n)

Dea

ths

(mill

ion

)D

eath

s(m

illio

n)

In Asia

　 Asia overtakes all other continents in terms of the frequency of

natural disasters, the size of affected population and the amount of

economic losses

Asia is the continent most severely affected by

floods and droughts.

Asia suffers from high frequency of floods and

droughts, and consequent large number of deaths and

heavy economic losses.

　　40%AsiaAsia

Beyond Asia

Beyond Asia

Global

number of

floods and

droughts

Global

number of

floods and

droughts

The China Situation

Special geographic and climatic conditions result in

frequent and severe floods and droughts in China.

Middle and lower reaches of

major rivers are prone to severe

threats of flooding

and logging

Middle and lower reaches of

major rivers are prone to severe

threats of flooding

and logging

1. Big variety of disasters

2. High Frequency

≥50 times

1949 2009year

≥17 times

Major FloodsSevere extensive

droughts

2/3

3. Wide Distribution (1)

2/3 of the PRC territory is prone to floods of various categories and severities.

■ Areas severely

threatened by floods

■ Areas threatened by

flashfloods

■ Areas with minor flood-

prevention tasksBeijing

Tianjin

Shanghai

Chongqing

3. Wide Distribution (2)

Economically developed East and South

China are most severely threatened by

floods.

In addition, most parts of China are faced

with droughts of different severities.

2/3 of the national industrial and agricultural

outputs

Over 50% of the national population

35% of the national cultivated land

East&

SouthChina

East&

SouthChina

ConcentrateConcentrate

Though greatly reduced, the ratio of average annual disaster-induced losses to GDP of the same period in China is still higher than that in developed countries.

4. Heavey Losses

1990Flooding and logging: around 1.5%

Droughts: 1%

2009

Ratio of average annual disaster-induced losses to GDP of the same period

2009






I.

II.

III.

The Chinese Government attaches great

importance to flood prevention and drought relief.

Perform commitments

Fulfill duties

Vigorously prevent floods, relieve droughts and reduce disasters

Agenda 21

UN Millennium Declaration

According to According to OpinionsOpinions

Big Issues

Critical Issues Urgent

Issues

improve

people’s

livelihood

Flood Management

Flood Control

Flood Prevention

comprehensive drought relief

single-purpose drought fighting

Drought relief

Flood

Prevention,

Drought

relief and

disaster

reduction

in China

Flood

Prevention,

Drought

relief and

disaster

reduction

in China

Recent 6 key measures for flood prevention, drought relief and disaster reduction in China

Flood prevention, drought relief and disaster reduction

Focus on no deaths and minimum losses

Enhance institutional framework

Improve structural facilities

Develop emergency planning

Reinforce early warning and forecasting

Improve legal framework

4

2

1

5

Strengthen emergency response management

6

32

1. Enhance institutional framework (1)

Flood control and drought relief commanding systems set up

at national, river basin, province, city and county levels

State Headquarters for Flood Control and Drought Relief and its offices

Basin headquarters for flood control and drought relief and their offices

Local flood control and drought relief headquarters and their offices

Flood prevention bodies set up by sectors with flood prevention tasks such as urban construction, petroleum, power and railway

1. Enhance institutional framework (2)

Institutional development for flood control and drought relief in river basins

Yangtze River

Yellow River

Huai River

Hai River Songhua River

Pearl River

Governments at all local levels have set up and improved their respective responsibility systems for flood prevention and drought relief under which the administrative heads assume core responsibilities.

2. Improve structural facilities (1)

Hitherto, China has completed

56.67 million ha

Effectively irrigated

area

actual Water

supply capacity of water supply

utilities

659.1 billion m3

280,000 km

Embank-ment

reservoirs

860,000

key flood

retention areas

97

Dahuofang Reservoir after risk

removal and reinforcement

2. Improve structural facilities (2)

Main sections of major rivers are capable of withstanding 100-year- return floods.

Small and medium-sized rivers are capable of preventing normal floods; flood

prevention capacity of major sea dykes is raised to the 50-year-return level.

Medium level droughts will not exert major impacts on industrial, agricultural

production.

Jing River Embankment

Farmland spray irrigation

Farmland spray irrigation

3. Develop emergency planning (1)

All governments at and above

the country level with flood-

prevention and drought-relief

tasks

National flood control and drought relief emergency planning system

Improved flood prevention plans for major rivers

Developed emergency response plans

for flood control and drought relief

Revised special emergency response

plans

Consultation for flood prevention and

drought relief

3. Develop emergency planning (2)

Develop typhoon prevention

plans

Cities and counties exposed to flash floods

Large and medium reservoirs and hydro stations

Cities and counties exposed to typhoons

Flood storage and detention areas

100%

100%

100%

3/4

Develop emergency response plans

and regulation plans

Develop flood diversion,

evacuation and

resettlement plans

Develop plans for

flashflood prevention

4. Reinforce early warning and forecasting (1)

Chenglingji Hydrological Station

• Over 34,000 hydrological stations and more than 8,600 flood reporting

stations already established;

• Automatic forecasting and warning systems developed for most large

and medium reservoirs;

• Flood warning and forecasting systems built for major rivers and lakes

Meteorological satellite

4. Reinforce early warning and forecasting (2)

Terrestrial meteorological observation station

• Drought monitoring networks set up in 50% of the provinces;

• Monitoring of drought development;

• Early warning and forecasting of droughts in a timely manner

Central Flood Prevention and Regulation SystemCentral Flood Prevention and Regulation System

5. Improve legal framework (1)

China has enacted and implemented its Water Law, Flood

Control Law, Flood Control Regulations, Regulations on Dam

Safety, Regulations on drought Relief, and Provisional Practice

Directions for Compensating the Use of Flood Storage and

Retention Areas.

5. Improve legal framework (2)

The legal framework lays a solid foundation for law-based flood control and drought relief.

Local government

Supplementary regulations

Implementation rules

6. Strengthen emergency response management (1)

• Enhance forecasting, early warning, regulation, emergency response,

disaster relief and post-disaster rehabilitation;

• 24-hour on duty and daily consultation;

• In case of flood and drought, emergency response is initiated according

to the emergency plan.

Emergency evacuation

6. Strengthen emergency response management (2)

Urgent consultation at the State Headquarters for Flood Control and Drought Relief

China’s main achievements in flood control and drought relief

Thanks to effective management by the

Chinese Government

China has won great victories against catastrophic

floods, severe droughts, snowstorms and earthquakes

Minimized losses resulting from disasters

Safeguarded people’ lives and properties

China’s main achievements in flood control and drought relief

Ensured safety of flood prevention1

Ensured safety of water supply2

Ensured safety of typhoon prevention3

Ensured safety of ice-flood prevention4

Reduced secondary disasters 5

1. Ensured safety of flood prevention (1)

Flood diversion at Mengwa Flood Storage

Area along the Huai River in 2007

Flood prevention and emergency

rescue in 1998

Boyang Lake Polder Dike

1. Ensured safety of flood prevention (2)

1949 2009year

Average yearly reduction of inundated farmland: 2.71 million ha

160million ha

Reduction of inundated farmland due to flood prevention

RMB3.69 trillion

Direct economic benefit from flood control

Death toll caused by flood and logging

greatly reduced

2. Ensured safety of water supply (1)

Drought relief and agricultural irrigation

471million mu

Grain Saving

39.41 million tons

Since 1991, China has achieved the following on annual basis

24.36 million people

Access to drinking water

2. Ensured safety of water supply (2)

This spring, severe drought once again hit the main winter wheat

production areas in China. The Chinese Government initiated Grade I

emergency response and adopted many drought relief measures in a

timely manner.

The Ministry of Water Resources scientifically regulated backbones

water works such as reservoirs to relieve the drought with full efforts.

Xiaolangdi Reservoir on

the Yellow River

released 2.9billion m3 of

water

3. Ensured safety of typhoon prevention (1)

7 typhoons land in Mainland China on average each year,

and the number may reach 12 in an extreme year.

Typhoon prevention and

disaster reduction

People’s lives and properties

ReliefRelief

PreventionPrevention

EvacuationEvacuation

No deaths,Minimuminjuries

No deaths,Minimuminjuries


In 2008, 10 typhoons or tropical storms hit China, with

unprecedented severity, frequency and early landing.


Due to well-planned arrangements and effective measures

The losses were minimized with the number of deaths reduced by 70%,

affected population reduced by 20%, and collapsed buildings down by

60% compared to those of regular years.

650,000 ships were saved

4.15 million people were safely evacuated and resettled in emergency in 2008

4. Ensured safety of ice-flood prevention (1)

Ice floods mainly take place in the Yellow River, Heilongjiang River and

Songhua River in North China, among which the Yellow River is most

seriously affected.

Yellow River Ice Flood

Yellow River Ice Flood

4. Ensured safety of ice-flood prevention (2)

In 2007-2008, the Yellow River Basin was hit by the most

severe ice floods in the last 40 years.

Scientific regulation of upper-reach reservoirs for water release; Reasonable use of trunk canals along the banks for water diversion; Timely use of low-lying wetland for water separation; Timely explosion of river-blocking ice dams for water discharge; Reinforced defense of dikes.

Scientific regulation of upper-reach reservoirs for water release; Reasonable use of trunk canals along the banks for water diversion; Timely use of low-lying wetland for water separation; Timely explosion of river-blocking ice dams for water discharge; Reinforced defense of dikes.

Affected area controlled

No death of people

Affected area controlled

No death of people

Ice slushes impacting the embankmentFrozen river section in Inner MongoliaFrozen river section in Inner Mongolia

5. Reduced secondary disasters (1)

• Snow storms,frost and earthquakes usually bring along severe

secondary disasters. • Wenchuan Devastating Earthquake on “May

12” 2008

2,473 Reservoirs damaged

822 Hydro

stations damaged

1,229km Embankment

damaged

105 Dammed

lakes

9.556 million people Difficult to

access drinking water


Reservoir

Hydro station

Embankment

Dammed lakes

People

Secondary disasters caused by the Wenchuan Earthquake Secondary disasters caused by the Wenchuan Earthquake

A helicopter handling large equipment

Technicians in survey work


• The ministry urgently mobilized 1,780 water experts, exploration and design professionals and repair/maintenance workers as well as equipment and materials for emergency rescue of the affected areas.

Premier WEN and Minister CHEN Lei at the forefront


• No dam failure at quake-damaged reservoirs or hydro stations;

• No breach of quake-damaged embankments;

• Risk removal of dammed lakes creating a historical miracle;

• No human death during emergency rescue of Tangjiashan.

Barrier discharge

6500m3 /

s

7 days 6 nights

20.37million m3

82.65m82.65m 124m124m

Excavate50000 douExcavate50000 dou

EqualsEquals

TransportTransport

5000-70005000-7000






I.

II.

III.

• Foundation for disaster prevention and

reduction in China remains weak;

• Capacities for prevention of flood and

drought disasters remain inadequate

Floods and droughts remain paramount risks for the Chinese nation.

With rapid socioeconomic development

新情况

新问题

新挑战

Flood prevention, drought relief and disaster relief

With intensifying global climate change

China and the international community

shoulder responsibilities

fulfill obligations

perform relevant tasks

Take effective measures for flood prevention, drought relief and disaster reduction

Future orientation of flood control and drought relief in China

New situationsNew situations

New problemsNew problems

New challengesNew challenges

Enhance system development

Improve the

management system Improve the

management system Reinforce the

security system Reinforce the

security system

Build up a scientific/high-tech supporting

system

Build up a scientific/high-tech supporting

system

Enhance the

legal framework Enhance the

legal framework

Improve the

structural system Improve the

structural system

1. Improve the structural system

Enhance

Embankment construction

Reservoir

constructionConstruction of flood

detention areas

river course training

Optimize

To realize

comprehensive benefits

Develop an interactive mechanisms with standard

management and orderly coordination

Develop an interactive mechanisms with standard

management and orderly coordination

Improve emergency response mechanismsImprove emergency response mechanisms

2. Improve the management system

Promote development of the flood and drought

emergency response management system

Improve the flood management systemImprove the flood management system

Make emergency plans for flood prevention and drought reliefMake emergency plans for flood prevention and drought relief

Imp

rov

e t

he

M

an

ag

em

ent

sys

tem

Imp

rov

e t

he

M

an

ag

em

ent

sys

tem

3. Reinforce the security system

Responsibilities and tasks of flood

prevention and drought relief of governments

at all levels

Define and perform

For joint response to disasters Promote public

participation

United to fight

against flood

4. Enhance the legal framework

Regulate relevent socioeconomic

development activitiesCoordinate rights and interests

of all stakeholders

Enhance the legal

framework

Standard practice for emergency

rescue of water works, flood

prevention and regulation, disaster

relief and economic compensation

5. Build up a science & technology system

Study and promote applicable and advanced

flood control and drought relief technologies

Build up a scientific and efficient flood control

and drought relief technical supporting system

Promote modernization of flood control

and drought relief undertakings

Build up a science &technology

system

Build up a science &technology

system

0

Responding to challenges requires enhanced international cooperation

United actions and joint efforts from the international community are

therefore requisite for coordinated response to problems and difficulties.

New

Huge

Severe Challengesdisaster reduction

Three Suggestions (1)

Boost international exchanges

1

share

disasters

information

share

disasters

information

Cooperate

Closely in

flood control

and drought

relief

Cooperate

Closely in

flood control

and drought

relief

Promote the development of a sound mechanism for international exchanges

Promote the development of a sound mechanism for international exchanges

Extend advanced and applicable technologies

Extend advanced and applicable technologies


Promote technical exchanges

2

Enhance

exchange and

cooperation in

flooding and

logging

disaster

assessment

Enhance

exchange and

cooperation in

flooding and

logging

disaster

assessment

Improve

the use of

remote-sensing

technologies

for real-time

monitoring and

better

forecasting

of droughts

Improve

the use of

remote-sensing

technologies

for real-time

monitoring and

better

forecasting

of droughts

Boost

exchanges and

cooperation in

decision-making

skills regarding

drought-relief

water regulation

Boost

exchanges and

cooperation in

decision-making

skills regarding

drought-relief

water regulation

Upgrade

capacity in

real-time

understanding

of

droughts and

drought-relief

water

regulation

Upgrade

capacity in

real-time

understanding

of

droughts and

drought-relief

water

regulation

Build capacity for real-time monitoring of floods and rapid accurate post-disaster assessment

Build capacity for real-time monitoring of floods and rapid accurate post-disaster assessment


Support developing countries as they:

3

Suffer from

higher frequency

of

natural disasters,

more deaths and

heavier economic

losses as a result

of such disasters

Suffer from

higher frequency

of

natural disasters,

more deaths and

heavier economic

losses as a result

of such disasters

Have more

difficulties in

post-disaster

rehabilitation

Have more

difficulties in

post-disaster

rehabilitation

Lag behind

developed

countries in terms of

technologies and

financial capacity

for

flood control

& drought relief

Lag behind

developed

countries in terms of

technologies and

financial capacity

for

flood control

& drought relief

Need more

support from

developed

countries

and other able

countries

Need more

support from

developed

countries

and other able

countries

Joint efforts for common progress

Glorious and arduous tasks

Enhance risk management of water projects

Prevent mega natural disasters

China will join hands with the international community for common progress

OpportunitiesOpportunities 21st

CenturyChallengesChallenges

Jointly respond to the challenge of mega natural disasters

Share technologies and experiences in disaster prevention and reduction

Thank You ！

Documents

Flood Prevention, Drought Relief and Disaster Reduction in China By H. E. Mr.CHEN Lei Minister of Water Resources, P.R. China March 19th, 2009