Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday chaired a meeting of the ruling Communist Party to review the situation after massive flash floods along the Tibet-Nepal border left hundreds dead and many others missing. The meeting focused on rescue and relief measures after the floods struck Gyirong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday.
At the start of the meeting, Xi and other leaders observed a minute of silence for those killed in the disaster, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Officials said emergency rescue operations had been carried out quickly and in a coordinated manner, while efforts were under way to resettle affected people.
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According to the report, the meeting decided that search and rescue plans should be drawn up scientifically and that all efforts should be made to find and rescue all missing Chinese and foreign nationals. The death toll in Nepal has risen to 469, while three people were killed in Tibet.
More than 550 people were reported missing in Tibet, and 100 Chinese nationals were yet to be traced in Nepal. Chinese officials said around 1,000 people, including 555 tourists, had been evacuated to safety. Officials have not yet given details of the tourists’ nationalities. A number of Indian pilgrims on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra were also reportedly stranded after the floods.
China has also issued a Level-IV alert after warning that a newly formed barrier lake at the confluence of two rivers faces a high risk of breaching and flooding downstream areas. China’s Ministry of Water Resources on Thursday night issued an emergency warning in Tibet over the lake, which formed near the meeting point of the Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers. These rivers rise in Tibet and flow into Nepal as part of the Bhotekoshi river system.
China’s emergency response system for natural disasters has four levels, with Level-I being the highest and Level-IV the lowest. The party meeting reviewed rescue and relief work, while authorities continued efforts to trace the missing and monitor the flood threat from the barrier lake.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
