The Chinese government will hold a week-long campaign nationwide from Friday to May 13 to improve public awareness of disaster control, after a major earthquake hit northwest China's Qinghai Province last month.

May 12 is national "Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day" designated after the date of the devastating earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province in 2008.

The campaign, launched by China National Committee for Disaster Reduction (NCDR), began in Beijing Friday with a forum on disaster prevention and reduction, attracting about 300 experts and officials.

Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu, also the committee's director, wrote in a letter to the forum that the earthquake that hit Yushu Prefecture of Qinghai April 14 was a warning of the urgency of disaster control.

He expected experts at the forum to discuss new measures to prevent natural disasters and minimize the losses they caused.

Their expertise was greatly needed to improve the country's disaster control capability, he wrote.

At the forum, the experts and officials discussed China's disaster control policies against the backdrop of global climate change, technical developments in disaster control, contingency response systems, rehabilitation and sustainable development in disaster-affected regions.

Hui also expected the nationwide campaign to improve the public awareness of disaster control and educate people on safety precautions.

The campaign would focus on the community education, especially among students and migrant workers, said a statement from the committee's general office.

Local authorities would hold exhibitions about disaster prevention, hand out manuals in communities and major media outlets would carry public service advertisements.

Emergency drills would be conducted to help residents cope with accidents, the statement said.

The committee would also host a national knowledge contest on disaster prevention, it said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2010)