Today is also China's 8th annual National Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day. It marks the day of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan. The Ministry of Civil Affairs says during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, disasters of all sorts affected 310 million people. 

There were 1,500 deaths and injuries. The central government has strengthened relief work. Nine state-level relief material warehouses were built, and 983 billion Renminbi, or 150 billion US dollars' worth of material was purchased.

699 counties in 15 provinces have been classified as frigid zones, where the housing reconstruction allowance is 40 percent higher than elsewhere.