By Fang Bin and Huang Kunlun
JINHUA, May 11 -- The office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Zhejiang Provincial Government jointly organized the "Emergency Mission2024" disaster relief exercise in response to natural disasters caused by super typhoon and severe floods in Jinhua City, east China's Zhejiang Province, and other areas across the province on May 10. Emergency rescue teams from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) Force and the militia participated in the exercise.
The exercise scenario simulated the super typhoon named "Poseidon" landing directly on the coast of Xiangshan County, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, impacting the whole province. The super typhoon triggered a huge flood in the Qiantang River basin, causing serious natural disasters such as dike burst, serious urban waterlogging and mountain torrents. Many villages and towns were inundated, a huge number of people were stranded, and the road traffic, power supply and communication networks in some areas were disrupted. The Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command, serving as the unified command for the disaster relief operations of the taskforces and the militia, immediately deployed its emergency rescue forces to the impacted areas by aerial delivery and motorized maneuver to open air corridors for rescue, precisely deliver relief supplies, rapidly evacuate the trapped people and provide emergency medical aids for the wounded.
The exercise involved more than 450 troops and over 130 pieces of equipment from the PLA, the PAP and the militia. It contained subjects including urban waterlogging rescue, rescue of passengers on trapped trains, emergency communication support, blocking of dike breaches. The exercise has comprehensively examined and enhanced the troops' joint rescue capabilities in case of super typhoons and severe floods, ensuring that they can take scientific and efficient measures in a quick manner to tackle natural disasters and safeguard people's lives and property.