军队和武警部队与各级人民政府建立完善应对自然灾害军地协调联动机制,建成战略级移动应急指挥平台,在重点地区预储预置抢险救灾急需物资器材,编制修订团以上部队抢险救灾应急预案,组织军地抢险救灾联训联演,全面提高抢险救灾能力。目前,已组建抗洪抢险应急部队、地震灾害紧急救援队、核生化应急救援队、空中紧急运输服务队、交通电力应急抢险队、海上应急搜救队、应急机动通信保障队、医疗防疫救援队、气象保障应急专业队等9类5万人的国家级应急专业力量。各军区会同有关省(自治区、直辖市),依托现役和预备役部队组建4.5万人的省级应急专业力量。
中国武装力量在历次重大抢险救灾中,都发挥了生力军和突击队作用。2008年,出动126万名官兵和民兵预备役人员抗击南方严重低温雨雪冰冻灾害,22.1万人参加四川汶川特大地震抗震救灾。2010年,投入2.1万人参加青海玉树强烈地震抗震救灾,1.2万人参加甘肃舟曲特大山洪泥石流灾害抢险救援。2011年以来,军队和武警部队共出动兵力37万人,各型车辆(机械)19.7万台次、飞机和直升机225架次,组织民兵预备役人员87万人,参加抗洪、抗震、抗旱、防凌、防台风和灭火等抢险救灾行动,抢救转移群众245万人,抢运物资16万吨。陆军航空兵直升机每年出动数百架次担负森林和草原防火、救火任务,并实现常态化。
The PLA, PAPF and people's governments at various levels have established military-civilian joint response mechanisms for natural disasters, set up a mobile command platform for emergency response at the strategic level, pre-stored and pre-positioned in key areas materials and equipment urgently needed for emergency rescue and disaster relief, worked out relevant scenarios for units at and above the regiment level, and organized joint military-civilian exercises and training, thereby enhancing their capabilities for emergency rescue and disaster relief in all respects. So far, China has formed nine state-level professional teams, with a total membership of 50,000. They are emergency-response teams for flood relief, earthquake rescue, NBC defense, emergency airlift, rush repair of transportation and power facilities, maritime search and rescue, mobile communications support, medical aid and epidemic prevention, and meteorological support. In collaboration with relevant provinces (autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government) and based on active and reserve forces, all MACs have joined to set up professional emergency-rescue units at the provincial level, totaling 45,000 members.
In all major emergency-rescue and disaster-relief operations, China's armed forces have always played a vital role. In 2008, some 1.26 million officers and men as well as militia members were sent to counter the disaster of freezing weather, sleet and snowstorms in southern China, and 221,000 to participate in rescue after the devastating earthquake in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province. In 2010, some 21,000 and 12,000 armed forces members were dispatched respectively to take part in rescue after the Yushu (Qinghai Province) earthquake and the Zhouqu (Gansu Province) mud-rock slide. Since 2011, the PLA and PAPF have contributed a total of 370,000 servicepersons and 197,000 vehicles or other machines of various types, flown over 225 sorties (using fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters), organized 870,000 militiamen and reservists, participated in emergency-rescue and disaster-relief operations in cases of floods, earthquakes, droughts, ice jams, typhoons and fires, rescued or evacuated more than 2.45 million people, and rushed 160,000 tons of goods to disaster areas. Every year, the army aviation flies hundreds of sorties to prevent and fight forest and grassland fires on a regular basis.