China kicks off a training program on the geological disaster
prevention to rural residents in a move to boost their self-defense
ability.
The two-month program covers as many as 18 provinces, most of
which are impoverished hinterland, according to a televised
conference Friday co-held by the Ministry of Land and Resources
together with three other?departments.
The poor-informed residents will be told with practical
knowledge including the site selection for houses in the
disaster-prone areas and emergency measures when calamities
befall.
The vast remote and undeveloped rural areas are among the
worst-hit regions, 80 percent of the country's catastrophes, said
Sun Wensheng, minister of Land and Resources.
The minister called for further efforts to disseminate the
knowledge on geological disaster prevention at grass-roots level,
which is effective to check the risks.
(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2006)