Chinese legislators presented on Thursday a revised disaster relief plan, focusing on updating rescue mission operations.
This is the second time the plan has been refreshed since its conception in 2005. The first was in Nov. 2011.
The relief plan, issued by the General Office of the State Council, shows that China will have a four-tier emergency response system, with Level - I calling for the most urgent response while Level - IV for the lowest.
The highest emergency response tier was used most recently on Dec. 8, 2015, when China declared a red alert for severe air pollution in Beijing. This caused for schools to cancel classes that day and served as a warning for citizens to stay indoors.
Meanwhile, the lowest level was used three years ago when China issued an emergency response for the Shanxi flood on July 30, 2012. Seven died and three went missing in the disaster, and a total of 483,000 people in Luliang and Yuncheng were affected by the flood, while 123,000 have been relocated. The total economic losses rounded up to 1.46 billion yuan ($229 million), with the flood destroying 31,000 houses and 10,300 hectares of crops.
At Level IV, the National Commission for Disaster Reduction and Ministry of Civil Affairs are mandated to send a working team to the disaster-affected areas within 24 hours and provide relief materials within 48.
The tier system is based on total damage, losses, and the number of affected people.
Natural disasters in China leave an estimated 1,500 dead or missing people every year from 2011-2015, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. People affected by disasters round up to 310 million people per year during the same period, leaving up to 700,000 houses destroyed. Economic losses due to disasters amount to 380 billion yuan ($58.3 billion).
The updated plan also mandates the National Committee for Disaster Reduction to spearhead and organize disaster rescue, with the committee's member agencies' duties and responsibilities including reporting the extent of the damage, releasing of news to inform the general public, and mobilizing the public for rescue missions.