China opens national emergency broadcast center

A national emergency broadcast center opened in China on Tuesday as the country speeds up the construction of a nationwide radio network that will spread rescue and relief information in disaster-hit regions.

A radio broadcast is a common method to spread emergency information in disaster-ravaged regions because of its fast transmission, wide coverage, convenient reception and low electricity costs, said a statement of the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. The administration is overseeing the project.

There is no system in place to ensure people in disaster-hit areas have access to essential information like warnings, or news about relief materials and reconstruction.

Under the China National Radio (CNR), the China National Emergency Broadcasting Center is responsible for setting up an emergency broadcast system and building a radio network that links central authorities to grassroots offices.

The plan, which will be an important measure for coping with disasters, was inspired by a similar but smaller-scale radio network set up after a fatal 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Lushan in southwest China's Sichuan Province on April 20.

The radio service, jointly initiated by CNR and local radio and TV stations, broadcast government relief measures and secondary disaster warnings to disaster-affected people via loudspeakers, AM radio frequencies and satellite facilities between April 22 and May 23.

The network, which is being jointly built by the administration, CNR and other departments, is expected to be fully up and running by the end of 2015.

Also on Tuesday, the center's official website started operation, releasing latest data on disasters across the country and providing online rescue and relief guidance.