China's Vice Premier Urges Strengthening Disaster Prevention in Agriculture

China's Vice Premier Liu Guozhong emphasized boosting disaster prevention in agriculture amid severe flooding challenges. Monitoring rainfall and enhancing water defense are critical, especially in northeastern provinces. The July floods significantly increased economic losses and impacted millions, necessitating improved disaster management.

China's Vice Premier Liu Guozhong has called for significant improvements in disaster prevention and mitigation within the agricultural sector, following extensive damage from recent floods. His statements were reported by Xinhua news agency on Tuesday.

During an investigative trip in Liaoning and Jilin provinces, Liu emphasized the importance of enhanced rainfall monitoring and bolstering water defense capabilities in key northeastern water conservancy projects. His comments followed severe flooding incidents across multiple regions, including eight rivers in northeastern provinces and Inner Mongolia.

The extreme rainfall in July shattered records, leading to nearly double the economic losses from the previous year, amounting to 76.9 billion yuan ($10.1 billion). The Ministry of Emergency Management reported that natural disasters in July affected millions and resulted in significant agricultural damage, including 2.42 million hectares of crops.

(With inputs from agencies.)