Hebei begins restoration and recovery efforts after floods

Hebei province has started reconstruction work in places that were seriously hit by heavy rainfall and follow-up flood triggered by Typhoon Doksuri, striving to restore normalcy to people's life in a timely manner.

As of Monday morning, the province has dispatched about 870,000 personnel for disaster inspection, rescue work and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction work, according to the province's flood control and drought relief headquarters, cited by Hebei Daily.

The province's transportation watchdog has sent work teams to five cities, including Baoding, Shijiazhuang and Xingtai, to collect information about ruined roads and would then make plans for rebuilding the roads as soon as possible.

The survey on the roads at site is expected to be completed by Tuesday (Aug 15) and all preliminary road restoration work will be completed by the end of this month, the report said.

The province's department of housing and urban-rural development has dispatched 94 water-pumping vehicles and 33 power generators to Zhuozhou, one of the worst-affected areas in Hebei, to help remove remaining floodwater in residential areas and ensure residents can have access to electricity and water during the process of reconstruction.

Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing called for concerted efforts to help recently flooded regions return to normalcy at an early date during his inspection in Hebei on Monday, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Zhang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited temporary shelters in Zhuozhou, demanding strengthened efforts to drain floodwater in urban areas, conduct environmental disinfection, remove safety hazards in buildings, meet people's basic needs, and ensure stable market supply, Xinhua reported.