China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters Saturday dispatched working groups to the flood-stricken Xinhua Village in southwest China's Sichuan Province to lead and coordinate emergency disaster relief efforts after more than 30 people lost contract following the flash floods early Saturday morning.
A total of 443 rescuers have been sent to the scene immediately.
In the wake of devastating flash floods that hit Xinhua Village of Hanyuan County, Ya'an City, the Ministry of Emergency Management demanded all-out efforts in the search and rescue of the missing personnel, the scientific and proper handling of the situation, and the thorough identification and mitigation of hidden dangers to prevent secondary disasters.
In response to the severe rainstorms and floods in Sichuan, the National Disaster Prevention and Reduction Commission launched a third level disaster relief emergency response, the second highest level of a four-tier system.
Building on the initial allocation of 10,000 disaster relief items to Sichuan, Chinese competent departments have also urgently dispatched an additional 40,000 pieces of relief materials. These include essential supplies such as folding beds, cotton mattresses, quilts and towels.
The Ministry of Emergency Management sent staff members from China Anneng Construction Group and equipment to the scene and utilized unmanned aerial vehicles for on-site emergency command and communication support. Local fire and rescue teams also rushed to the scene immediately.
Rescuers have retrieved eight bodies, found and brought four to safety as of 20:00 Saturday.
The disaster occurred at around 02:30 Saturday, which damaged over 40 houses and affected 1,254 residents in Xinhua village, local authorities said.
Roads and communications have been partially restored, and the affected residents have been accommodated.
Working groups guide relief efforts in Sichuan's flood-stricken village
Chinese industrial enterprises are actively expanding production as new engineering projects surged in September, reaching a record high this year.
Data released by the State Taxation Administration on Sunday showed that sales revenues of industrial manufacturers grew by 3.6 percent year on year in the first three quarters, indicating a steady growth in industrial production during this period.
In September, 50.76 percent of construction machinery nationwide was in operation, up 0.75 percent from August, suggesting an acceleration in construction activity across the country. Among them, lifting and digging equipment were the most frequently used.
"There are many large new or expansion projects now underway in the country, and the speed of construction is increasing," said Shen Chunfeng, an expert in engineering machinery index data at ROOTCloud, an industrial internet platform solution provider.
The northeast region is currently leading the country in engineering construction activities. In Harbin, the capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, construction is in full swing at new project sites.
"Nearly 300 workers are working simultaneously at the construction site even overtime to speed up the external wall insulation project for the research buildings No. 1 and No. 2," said Meng Xiangxin, technical director of a municipal engineering company in Harbin.
By the end of September, nearly 96.5 percent of the 1,500 key projects in Heilongjiang had begun construction, 4.5 percentage points higher than the same time last year, covering infrastructure projects in areas like water conservation, road upgrades, and underground piping systems.
Meanwhile, the number of projects awarded through successful bidding is rapidly increasing, with business expansion projects up 5.8 percent year on year in the third quarter. In September, the growth rate of awarded contracts reached 28.4 percent, which is the highest this year, indicating a significant pickup in enterprise expansion activity.
"This shows that industrial enterprises are optimistic about future market demand. Their business confidence and expectations are boosted, which drives a steady increase in investment and expansion activities. As a range of new policies continues to take effect, companies' expectations for future market demand are expected to improve, further encouraging them to expand and enhance their operational vitality," said Yang Daoling, an official of the Department of Big Data Development, State Information Center.
Chinese industrial enterprises expand with increasing construction projects
