Announcement of the Standing Committee of the Tenth People’s Congress of Jiangsu Province   No.117   The Regulations of Jiangsu Province on Meteorological Disaster Prevention, adopted at the Twenty-fourth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth People’s Congress of Jiangsu Province on July 28, 2006, are hereby promulgated and shall enter into effect as of September 1, 2006.   July 28, 2006   Regulations of Jiangsu Province on Meteorological Disaster Prevention (Adopted at the Twenty-fourth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth People’s Congress of Jiangsu Province on July 28, 2006)   Chapter IGeneral Provisions Article 1 These Regulations are enacted in accordance with the Meteorology Law of the People’s Republic of China and other laws and administrative regulations, in light of the specific situation of this Province, and for the purposes of regulating meteorological disaster prevention activities, strengthening the work for meteorological disaster prevention, safeguarding people’s lives and property, preventing and reducing losses caused by meteorological disasters, and promoting social and economic development. Article 2 These Regulations are applicable to meteorological disaster prevention activities within the administrative region and the sea areas under the jurisdiction of this Province. Article 3 Meteorological disasters as used in these Regulations refer to disasters caused by disastrous weather and climate such as tropical cyclone (including typhoon), rainstorm (snowstorm), thunderbolt, cold wave, strong wind, drought, heavy fog, high temperature, low temperature, tornado, hail, frost, incessant overcast and rain. Meteorological disaster prevention as used in these Regulations refers to activities of monitoring, forecasting, preventing, and reducing meteorological disasters. Article 4 The competent meteorological department at or above the county level (hereinafter referred to as the competent meteorological department) shall, under the leadership of the competent meteorological department at a higher level and the people’s government at the corresponding level, be in charge of the administration and supervision of the work of disastrous weather and climate monitoring, forecasting and warning, artificial weather modification operations, and thunderbolt disasters prevention within its administrative region. The relevant departments such as the agriculture and forestry, water conservancy, marine administration and fishery, construction, transportation, work safety supervision, public security, civil administration, health, radio and television broadcasting, environmental protection, and national land resources and the relevant maritime safety administration of the local people’s government at or above the county level shall do well their work concerning meteorological disaster prevention according to the their division of functions and responsibilities. Article 5 The local people’s government at or above the county level shall strengthen the leadership over the work for meteorological disaster prevention, incorporate the work for meteorological disaster prevention into the local national economic and social development planning, incorporate the investment in capital construction and the fund needed for the local meteorological undertaking into the fiscal budget at the corresponding level, increase the input into the meteorological undertaking, and increase the input of funds according to the needs of meteorological disaster prevention and mitigation and the relevant provisions. Article 6 The local people’s government at or above the county level shall organize the competent meteorological department and other relevant departments to strengthen the publicity of the laws and regulations on meteorological disaster prevention and the knowledge of disaster prevention and mitigation, enhance the public awareness of meteorological disaster prevention, and improve the capabilities of disaster prevention and mitigation.   Chapter II　 Prevention Planning, Organization and Implementation Article 7 The local people’s government at or above the county level shall organize the department of development and reform, the competent meteorological department, and other relevant departments to formulate local planning for meteorological disaster prevention and work out the plans for rapid response to meteorological disasters according to the characteristics of the local meteorological disasters. The planning for meteorological disaster prevention shall include the following main contents: (1) the status quo and development trend of the meteorological disasters; (2) the objectives and tasks of the meteorological disaster prevention; (3) the standards for defenses set up, key prevention time and major prevention areas for meteorological disaster prevention; (4) the work mechanism of and the functions and responsibilities of the departments on meteorological disaster prevention; (5) the construction of the meteorological disaster prevention systems and the relevant infrastructure. The plans for rapid response to meteorological disasters shall mainly include such contents as the nature and grade of meteorological disasters, organization and command for rapid response and interaction systems for rapid response, functions and duties of relevant departments, monitoring and warning mechanisms, rapid response activation and response procedures, emergency support and later stage handling, supervision and management, and liability investigation. Article 8 The competent meteorological department and other relevant departments shall formulate departmental plans for rapid response to meteorological disasters according to the meteorological disaster prevention planning and the plans for rapid response to the meteorological disasters of the people’s government at the corresponding level and submit such plans to the people’s government at the corresponding level for record. Units that are liable to meteorological disasters shall formulate their own plans for rapid response to the meteorological disasters in light of their respective specific situations. Article 9 The local people’s government at or above the county level and the departments under it shall activate or terminate the plans for rapid response to the meteorological disasters in light of the actual situations of the meteorological disasters and make it known to the public in a timely manner. Article 10 The competent meteorological department shall organize climatic feasibility studies on the formulation of city planning, construction of key projects, and major regional economic development projects and make assessment on the meteorological disaster risks according to law. The scope and procedures for climatic feasibility studies shall be jointly formulated by the provincial department of development and reform jointly with the provincial competent meteorological department. Article 11 The competent meteorological department shall, in conjunction with the departments and units such as the transportation, public security, national land resources, marine administration and fishery, and maritime safety administration, establish and improve the specialized meteorological monitoring network and disaster warning systems to provide meteorological support and real-time services to the road traffic safety, water traffic and operation safety, prevention and control of geological disasters, fishery production safety, marine resource exploitation and rapid rescue. The relevant departments shall erect warning signs in areas where meteorological disasters are liable to occur. Article 12 The competent meteorological department shall, in conjunction with the departments of agriculture and forestry, and water conservancy, establish meteorological disaster warning and assessment systems for agriculture, improve the meteorological warning system for the safety of grains and other main crops, and mitigate the losses that might be caused to the  agricultural production by the meteorological disasters. Article 13 The competent meteorological department shall establish cooperation mechanisms with the health and environmental protection departments with an aim to improve the meteorological warning system that shows the effects of the meteorological environment changes on diseases, epidemic situation, and environment quality, and provide meteorological support services for rapid response to the emergent public health and environmental incidents. Article 14 The competent meteorological department shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments of the local people’s government at the corresponding level, make assessment on the major and extraordinarily serious meteorological disasters happening within its administrative region and submit the assessment reports to the local people’s government at the corresponding level and the competent meteorological department at a higher level so as to provide decision-making basis for the organization of disaster mitigation and relief. The nature and grade of the meteorological disasters shall be ascertained and publicized by the competent meteorological department and no other units or individuals may make and publicize such ascertainment. Article 15 When organizing defense against major and extraordinarily serious meteorological disasters, the local people’s government at or above the county level and the relevant departments shall take such necessary emergency measures as shutdown of plants, businesses, and schools, and traffic control according to the severity of disasters and mobilize social segments to make defense against the major and extraordinarily serious meteorological disasters in order to avoid and mitigate losses of people’s lives and property. When taking or terminating the aforesaid emergency measures, the local people’s government at or above the county level and the relevant departments shall notify the relevant units and personnel in an effective and timely manner and make it known to the public according to the actual needs. Article 16 Where a meteorological disaster occurs, the relevant departments such as the civil affairs, public security, and health shall, in compliance with their respective functions and duties, organize the implementation of the disaster relief and disaster mitigation work in a timely manner so as to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property and the social stability. All units and individuals shall render support to the disaster relief and disaster mitigation measures taken by the disaster relief and disaster mitigation organs and none of them shall   impede the activities of meteorological disaster relief and rescue. Units and individuals are encouraged to conduct mutual aid in meteorological disasters. Article 17 The relevant departments shall, in compliance with their functions and duties, do well their work in prevention of such disasters induced by meteorological factors as plant diseases and insect pests, geological disasters, floods, and marine disasters and such disasters derived from or related to the meteorological conditions as the forest fires, city fires, waterlogging, acid rain, and atmospheric pollution.   Chapter III　Monitoring, Forecast and Warning Article 18 The local people’s government at or above the county level shall organize the establishment of the meteorological disaster monitoring network within its administrative region according to the principles of reasonable layout and efficient utilization. Member units of the meteorological disaster monitoring network include the meteorological offices and stations subordinate to the competent meteorological department, and the observation (monitoring) offices, stations and sentry posts subordinate to such relevant departments and units as the water conservancy, environmental protection, civil aviation, salt industry, agriculture and forestry, transportation, national land resources, marine administration and fishery. Article 19 The competent meteorological department shall establish a meteorological information sharing platform in conjunction with the relevant departments and units, and the member units of the monitoring network shall provide this platform with the atmospheric, hydrological, marine, environmental and ecological data that are related to meteorology. The competent meteorological department shall exert unified supervision and guidance over the meteorological disaster monitoring work conducted by the member units of the meteorological disaster monitoring network. Article 20 The public meteorological forecast and disastrous weather and climate warning shall be issued in a unified way by the meteorological offices and stations subordinate to the competent meteorological department in compliance with their prescribed functions and duties and their forecast service responsibility zones. No other organizations or individuals may issue to the community such forecast or warning. If a meteorological office or station subordinate to a competent meteorological department provides meteorological forecast beyond its own forecast service responsibility zone, the real time meteorological forecast provided by the meteorological office or station subordinate to the competent meteorological department in charge of the forecast-covered responsibility zone shall be used. Article 21The competent meteorological department shall do well its work in giving forecast and warning on disastrous, crucial and transitional weather, and climatic predictions on drought and flood trends, give timely report to the local people’s government, and notify the relevant disaster prevention and relief organizations and relevant departments. The competent meteorological department and its meteorological offices and stations shall strengthen the scientific research on disastrous weather and climate and improve the accuracy, promptness, and service quality in disastrous weather and climate forecast and warning. Article 22 When a meteorological disaster is liable to occur, the relevant member units of the monitoring network shall carry out more frequent observations; the meteorological offices and stations subordinate to the relevant competent meteorological department shall organize trans-regional forecast consultation and joint monitoring and promptly issue warning of disastrous weather according to the change of the weather. Article 23 Various news media such as radio, television, newspaper, telecommunication and Internet and the information service organizations shall, in accordance with the provisions in laws and regulations and the agreements with the meteorological offices and stations subordinate to the local competent meteorological department, accurately and promptly spread the latest meteorological information or meteorological forecast programs directly provided by the meteorological offices and stations subordinate to the local competent meteorological department. Where the news media and information service organizations as prescribed in the preceding paragraph gain profits from distribution of meteorological information, they shall draw part of the profits to support the development of the local meteorological service. Article 24 Radio and television weather forecast programs shall comply with the broadcasting criteria formulated by the competent meteorological department and the radio and television administrative department of the State Council. Article 25 The news media and the information service organizations that are capable of real time broadcasting shall promptly insert into their ongoing programs or increase the number of the broadcasting of the warning information about major or sudden disastrous weather and climate upon the receipt of such information.   Chapter IV　Artificial Weather Modification and Thunderbolt Disasters Prevention Article 26 The local people’s government at or above the county level shall, in light of the need for disaster prevention and mitigation, get equipped with necessary equipment and facilities, establish unified and coordinated command and operation system, and carry out opportunely artificial weather modification operations such as rain enhancement, hail suppression and fog dispersal. The competent meteorological department shall, in light of the meteorological disaster monitoring situation, formulate artificial weather modification operation plans and organize the implementation of such plans after they are submitted to and approved by the people’s government at the corresponding level. The funds needed shall be borne by the people’s government at the corresponding level. Where conditions allow, the departments such as the public security and civil aviation shall support the artificial weather modification operations. Article 27 Execution of artificial weather modification operations shall observe the operation rules and operating procedures formulated by the competent meteorological department of the State Council and be made known to the public. Unexpected accidents caused by artificial weather modification operations shall be dealt with by the people’s government that has approved such operations according to the relevant provisions of the State and the Province. Article 28 Places where flammables and explosives are produced or stored, computer information systems, communication, radio and television facilities, power facilities, public places which are subject to lightning strike, and other Class I, II, and III lightning protection buildings (structures) as specified in the Design Code for Protection of Structures Against Lightning of the State shall be installed with lightning protection devices. The Lightning protection devices shall be designed, constructed, and put into use simultaneously with the main constructions. Article 29 Units engaged in lightning protection device inspection, professional design or construction of lightning protection projects shall obtain qualification certificates issued by the competent meteorological department at or above the provincial level. The relevant provisions of the State shall be implemented with regard to the procedures, conditions, and time limits for the qualification application concerned. Article 30 Construction drawings and design documents of lightning protection devices shall comply with the codes and standards of lightning protection technology specified by the State and shall be examined and approved by the competent meteorological department; the construction unit shall not submit any of them for construction if such drawings and documents have not gone through or fail to pass such examination. The construction unit of lightning protection devices shall carry out the construction in compliance with the examined and approved drawings and design documents and be subject to supervision and inspection of the competent meteorological department. Article 31 The competent meteorological department shall inspect the lightning protection devices for acceptance after they are completed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State; where the devices are inspected to be unqualified, the competent meteorological department shall order the construction unit to make rectification within a time limit and the construction shall not be put into use if it fails to make rectification within the time limit or its rectification does not meet the requirement. The construction unit shall submit the following documents to the competent meteorological department when it applies for the inspection of the lightning protection device for acceptance upon completion: (1) the letter of application for inspection of the lightning protection devices for acceptance upon completion, the design approval letter, the as-built drawings and their supporting documents; (2) the qualification certificate of the construction unit of the lightning protection project; (3) the registration documents of lightning protection products issued by the competent provincial meteorological department; (4) the inspection report of qualification for the lightning protection devices. Article 32 The owner of the lightning protection devices shall strengthen the maintenance of the devices and entrust the regular inspection of the devices to a qualified organization. The lightning protection devices installed in places where flammables and explosives are produced or stored shall be inspected once every six months, and other lightning protection devices shall be inspected once a year. In places and facilities such as computer rooms and gas stations, static electricity tests shall be conducted simultaneously. For the lightning protection devices that are inspected as unqualified, the inspecting unit shall present rectification suggestions along with the inspection report and make a copy to the competent meteorological department. The competent meteorological department shall order the owner of the devices to make rectification within a prescribed period of time.   Chapter V　Facility Construction and Protection Article 33The local people’s government at or above the county level shall strengthen the construction of the infrastructures for meteorological disaster monitoring, forecast and warning, and in light of the need for local meteorological disaster prevention work, set up mobile meteorological facilities for rapid response so as to improve its capabilities of meteorological disaster monitoring, forecast, and warning. The local people’s government at or above the county level shall make the planning of setting up facilities for broadcasting meteorological disaster warning information in the urban areas. Places such as airports, harbors, bus and railway stations, highways, and crowded scenic spots shall meet the conditions of being able to promptly broadcast meteorological disaster warning information. Article 34 The relevant departments shall strengthen the construction of infrastructures for specialized meteorological disaster prevention systems. Where meteorological disaster monitoring and warning facilities need to be constructed on infrastructure projects such as highways and large bridges in accordance with the construction specifications, such facilities shall be constructed simultaneously with the projects.   Article 35 The locations and facilities of the meteorological offices and stations subordinate to the competent meteorological department and the meteorological observation (monitoring) stations of other members of the monitoring network shall remain stable and no units or individuals may occupy, damage, destroy or move such stations and facilities without authorization. Article 36 The local people’s government at or above the county level and its relevant departments shall delimit the local protected zones for meteorological survey environment according to the criteria prescribed by the State and incorporate them into city planning or into village or town planning. The competent meteorological department shall submit the local protected zones and criteria for meteorological survey environment and facilities to the relevant local departments such as the development and reform, construction, planning, national land resources, and radio administration for record and review. Before approving a construction project within the protected zones for meteorological survey environment, the departments such as the development and reform, planning and national land resources shall solicit opinions from the competent meteorological department at the same level in advance. The relevant departments may not approve the construction of projects that are not in compliance with the criteria prescribed by the State for the protection of the meteorological survey environment. Article 37 Where meteorological survey environment is damaged, the responsible party shall make rectification in time in accordance with the criteria. If the rectification can not be made or fails to reach the criteria, the local people’s government shall organize the construction of survey sites and relevant infrastructures in compliance with the criteria, and the relevant expenses shall be borne by the responsible party.   Where it is really necessary to move the meteorological stations, offices or their meteorological facilities out of the need for implementation of city planning or for construction of key national or provincial projects, the party in charge of the moving shall report to the competent meteorological department at or above the provincial level for approval. The costs for moving or reconstructing the meteorological stations, offices or meteorological facilities shall be borne by the party in charge of the moving. Where meteorological stations and offices are going to be moved, contrast observation shall be conducted, and the period for contrast observation shall be not less than one year.   Chapter VILegal Responsibility Article 38 Any news medium or information service unit that, in violation of the provisions in laws and these Regulations, fails to use the opportune meteorological information provided by a  meteorological office or station subordinate to a competent meteorological department, the competent meteorological department shall, within the limits of its authority, order it to make rectification and give a warning, and may concurrently impose a fine not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan. Article 39 Any unit or individual that, in violation of the provisions in the second paragraph of Article 14 of these Regulations, ascertain and publicize the nature and grade of a disastrous weather and climate without authorization, the competent meteorological department shall, within the limits of its authority, order it or him to stop the illegal act and give a warning; where an adverse result has been caused, a fine not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan shall be imposed. Article 40 Any member unit of the monitoring network that, in violation of the provisions in the first paragraph of Article 19 of these Regulations, fails to provide the meteorological information sharing platform with such information relevant to meteorology as the atmospheric, hydrological, marine, environmental, or ecological data, shall be ordered to make rectification by the competent meteorological department jointly with the department in charge of the member unit. Article 41 Any unit or individual that is under any one of the following circumstances shall be ordered to make rectification by the competent meteorological department within the limits of its authority and a fine shall be imposed according to the following provisions: (1) a fine of not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan shall be imposed upon the unit or individual that, in violation of the provisions in Article 28 of these Regulations, refuses to install lightning protection devices as it/he shall; (2) a fine of not less than 3,000 yuan but not more than 10,000 yuan shall be imposed upon the unit or individual that, in violation of the provisions in the first paragraph of Article 30 of these Regulations, fails to submit the lightening protection device construction drawings and design documents for examination by the local competent meteorological department or fails to pass the examination, but delivers them for construction without authorization; (3) a fine of not less than 3,000 yuan but not more than 20,000 yuan shall be imposed upon the unit or individual that, in violation of the provisions in the first paragraph of Article 31 of these Regulations, fails to have the lightning protection devices inspected by the local competent meteorological department for acceptance upon completion; (4) a fine of not less than 2,000 yuan but not more than 10,000 yuan shall be imposed upon the unit or individual that, in violation of the provisions in Article 32 of these Regulations, refuses to carry out inspection on the lightning protection devices or refuses to make rectification in case the devices are inspected as unqualified. Where a unit refuses to make rectification within the prescribed period of time ordered by the competent meteorological department after its lightning protection devices fail to pass the inspection for acceptance upon completion, a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan shall be imposed by the competent meteorological department within the limits of its authority. Article 42 Where any unit, in violation of the provisions in Article 29 of these Regulations, engages in activities of lightning protection inspection, design or construction without obtaining the qualifications as a unit for lightening protection device inspection, or for professional design or construction of lightening protection projects, or beyond its qualification grade and scope as a unit for professional design or construction of lightening protection projects, the competent meteorological department shall, within the limits of its authority, order it to stop the illegal acts, and confiscate its illegal gains, and may concurrently impose a fine not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan. Article 43 Where a radio or television station at any level refuses to insert into the ongoing programs or increase the number of the broadcasting of the warning about major or sudden disastrous weather and climate, the person in charge who is directly responsible and other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions according to law by the competent administrative organ or by the unit it belongs to. Article 44 Where a competent meteorological department, any other relevant department or any of its staff members commits one of the following acts, the person in charge who is directly responsible and other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions; where a crime is constituted, criminal liabilities shall be investigated into according to law: (1) failing to take necessary measures or perform relevant duties as required by the meteorological disaster prevention planning and the plans for rapid response; (2) committing a major missing or misreporting of disastrous weather warning due to negligence of duties; (3) any other act of neglecting duties, abusing powers or engaging in malpractice for personal gains.   Chapter VIISupplementary Provisions Article 45 These Regulations shall enter into effect as of September 1, 2006.