BEIJING, July 30 -- PLA and armed police troops with a total of 725,000 person-time have participated in battling floods in southern China as of July 28 since the flood season this year, said Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) at a regular press conference in Beijing on July 30.
"The whole military puts the safety of the people's lives and property in the first place, moves quickly and goes all out to carry out rescue and disaster relief work,” said Ren Guoqiang, while introducing the general situation of the Chinese military's participation in the flood control and disaster relief.
According to Ren, as of July 28, the Chinese military has sent 725,000 troops, 228,500 militiamen, 7,749 boats, and 54,116 construction machinery and vehicles in total to participate in 3,749 rescue operations. The military has assisted in the transfer of 137,000 people and over 4,560 tons of materials from the disaster-stricken areas. There are over 11.8 million sandbags filled, 3,800 piping leaks blocked, 900 kilometers of embankments reinforced, and 224 kilometers of roads restored.
Ren added that currently, China's flood control situation is still severe. Many troops are still fighting in hard-hit provinces such as Fujian, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Anhui, racing against time to save the people and the property.