(May 11, 2009) The first anniversary of the Sichuan earthquake that killed almost 90,000 people has prompted the Chinese government to go on a PR offensive. It’s preparing to release a white paper outlining steps to increase public-preparedness and warning systems for natural disasters. The paper is expected to be released on May 12 — the one-year anniversary of the earthquake. One recommendation from the report would see the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) train 1 million meteorologists in rural areas over the next five years to ensure villages have the tools and information to combat catastrophic weather events.

The plan, according to a Xinhua Net news report, would be far reaching with the government distributing books and handouts on construction guidelines, evacuation plans, landslide prevention and control of pests after disasters.

“The earthquake showed we were ill-prepared for potential hazards,” said Wang Qizhang, deputy director of Sichuan government secretariat. “We found many people did not know how to react to the earthquake and perform proper first aid.

“We must learn from the lesson and enhance public awareness and abilities of self-protection.”

“Some devastation is avoidable. An effective public monitoring and early warning system to alert people to risks from droughts, floods, and earthquakes could save many lives,” Wang added.

Needless to say, the government’s publicity blitz makes no mention of the possibility that last year’s devastating earthquake may not have been a natural disaster at all, but a man-made disaster. Soon after the earthquake, Chinese and international scientists began to examine and conclude that the construction of the Zipingpu dam, mere miles from the May 12 earthquake’s epicenter, likely caused what is known in geological circles as “reservoir induced seismicity.”

If true – and the evidence is beginning to point to this conclusion – then the best way to protect people from disasters like the May 12, 2008 earthquake is to not create the risks of disasters in the first place. Chinese environmental groups and concerned geologists have called for a temporary halt to the approval of big hydro dams in China’s geologically unstable south-west region until the risk of RIS can be determined.

Patricia Adams, Probe International, May 11, 2009