Emergency Response Law was promulgated on 30 Aug. 2007, and entered into force on 1 Nov. 2007.
There are 70 articles in total. The Law aims to prevent and reduce the occurrence of emergencies and regulate emergency response activities.
The key points are as follows:
Emergencies refer to natural disasters, accidental disasters, public health incidents and public security incidents, which occur suddenly, cause or may potentially cause serious social harm, and entail emergency disposal measures. According to the degree of social harm, the extent of the impact and other factors, natural disasters, accidental disasters and public health incidents shall be classified into four grades: especially serious, serious, less serious and common.
The emergency response work shall adhere to the principle of putting prevention first and combining prevention with emergency response. The State shall establish a risk assessment system for serious emergencies. The State Council shall establish a unified national information system for emergencies. The State shall establish and improve a sound warning system for emergencies. According to the degree of urgency of an emergency, its trend of development and the extent of damage it may cause, the early warnings about natural disasters, accidental disasters and public health incidents that may be forewarned shall be classified into four grades: Grade 1, Grade 2, 3.Grade 3 and Grade 4, which shall be indicated respectively in red, orange, yellow and blue, with Grade 1 being the highest one.