Basic livelihood of disaster victims guaranteed, State Council publishes the "Relief Regulations"
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 14 (Reporter Sui Xiaofei) Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council recently signed State Council Decree No. 577, promulgating the "Natural Disaster Relief Regulations," which came into force on September 1, 2010.
The regulations consist of seven chapters and thirty-five articles, and were formulated to standardize natural disaster relief work and guarantee the basic livelihood of disaster victims.
The regulations stipulate that natural disaster relief work shall follow the principles of people-orientedness, government leadership, tiered management, social mutual assistance, and self-rescue by disaster victims. Natural disaster relief work shall be implemented under the administrative leadership responsibility system of people's governments at all levels.
The regulations stipulate that when a natural disaster occurs and conditions for activating a natural disaster relief emergency plan are met, people's governments at or above the county level or the comprehensive coordination bodies for natural disaster relief emergencies of people's governments shall promptly activate a natural disaster relief emergency response and adopt one or more of the following measures: immediately release to society the government's response measures and public precautionary measures; urgently relocate and resettle disaster victims; urgently allocate and transport natural disaster relief emergency funds and materials, promptly provide disaster victims with emergency relief such as food, drinking water, clothing and bedding, heating, temporary shelter, and medical treatment and epidemic prevention, and guarantee the basic livelihood of disaster victims; comfort disaster victims and handle the aftermath affairs of those who died; organize disaster victims to carry out self-rescue and mutual rescue; analyze and assess disaster trends and the needs of disaster areas and adopt corresponding natural disaster relief measures; and organize natural disaster relief donation activities.
Natural disaster relief funds and materials shall be used for expenditures such as the emergency relocation and resettlement of disaster victims, basic livelihood relief, medical relief, the restoration and reconstruction of public service facilities such as education and medical facilities and housing, the procurement, storage and transportation of natural disaster relief materials, and the comfort of the relatives of those who died due to disasters. The civil affairs, finance and other departments and relevant social organizations of the people's governments of disaster-affected areas shall, through newspapers, radio, television and the Internet, proactively disclose to society the sources, quantities and use of the natural disaster relief funds and materials and donated funds and materials they have received.