Participants carry out a search and rescue exercise in the ruins at the site in Ganzhou District, Zhangye City of Gansu Province. (Photo by Chen Bin)
ZHANGYE, May 12 – China’s State Council’s Earthquake Relief Headquarters Office, the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM), and the Gansu Provincial Government held the "Emergency Mission-2022" earthquake relief exercise targeting plateau and alpine regions on the morning of May 11, 2022. The main site for the exercise was set in Zhangye City, southwest China’s Gansu Province, with four sub-sites in Jiayuguan, Jinchang, Jiuquan, and Wuwei. A total of more than 5,000 military and civilian personnel participated in the exercise.
The exercise scenario included the collapse of houses and casualties caused by the earthquake, the interruption of roads, electricity, water supply, gas, and communications in the disaster area, and the occurrence of landslides and collapses in mountainous areas. It aimed to comprehensively test the rapid response and earthquake relief capabilities of the emergency rescue system.
After the exercise began, the Earthquake Relief Headquarters Office launched the Level I emergency response, while the Joint Command Center of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Joint Command Center of the PLA Western Theater Command launched emergency response according to the plan. The PLA Western Theater Command established the Earthquake Relief Headquarters, and the Gansu Provincial Military Command worked with local civilian departments to ensure that the rescue forces assigned to the army and air force of the Western Theater Command, the Xining Joint Logistic Support Center (JLSF), and the First Mobile Corps of the People's Armed Police Force (PAP) arrive at the disaster area timely. The National Earthquake Disaster Emergency Rescue Team and the China International Search and Rescue Team also provided cross-regional support to the disaster area.
The exercise made extensive use of new rescue and disaster relief equipment such as dangerous goods disposal robots, human exoskeletons, map modeling drones, and 5G remote diagnosis and treatment equipment, which has reduced the damage to rescuers from secondary disasters and made the rescue more efficient.
It is reported that 17 emergency professional teams of eight categories from the PLA and the PAP participated in the operation under the command of the PLA Western Theater Command. More than 800 people and 200 sets of various types of equipment and local rescue forces carried out drills on over 10 subjects including personnel evacuation and transfer, highway and bridge repair. Through the exercise, they comprehensively improved the efficient rescue capability in major disasters.
Participants carry out a drone fire exercise at the training site in Zhangye City, Gansu Province. (Photo by Chen Bin)