A villager scans the QR code to register his health condition in Tianmushan town, Hangzhou of East China's Zhejiang Province on Saturday. Photo: cnsphotos

Authorities in East China's Zhejiang Province are encouraging local residents to use a new safety QR code and get their information registered in order to allow for better transmission of information during typhoon or flood situations.

If residents tap the green button for "I'm safe!" via the safety QR code, the emergency department will know they are okay during a natural disaster. 

The health QR code has played an active role amid the COVID-19 epidemic and now the emergency authorities in Zhejiang believe it could help amid natural disasters.

Zhejiang Province is a region that regularly suffers from typhoons and floods. Last year, at least 32 people died and 16 went missing after super typhoon Lekima made landfall in the province in August.

To make sure the QR code can function properly before the rainy season comes this year, local officials are racing against time to collect basic information from local residents and put it into the system, including their names, ID and phone numbers before June 15.

The QR code will apply to those who may be potentially affected by mountain flood disasters, those living in areas with a risk of geological disaster or in dangerous houses in urban and rural areas and marine aquaculture practitioners. 

Chen Junping, deputy head of the emergency management bureau in Qingtian county, told the Global Times the local government is busy registering the personal information of targeted residents and notifying them about the usage of the QR code. 

"When people scan the QR code, the emergency department will acquire their location and safety situation. The QR code will mean that residents in danger during natural disasters won't be missed," Chen said. He said Qingtian county will probably register about 2,000 people in this system who may be exposed to danger from natural disaster.

When there is a typhoon or flood, affected residents will have to report their safety via the QR code, including whether they are in shelters, safe with their relatives or are stranded somewhere. The QR code will be mandatory for these targeted people, according to Chen.

Most residents welcome the QR code since it will offer them timely help when they are in danger, Chen said. 

Southern China enters its heavy rainfall week from Monday, which will see heavy rain almost every day, especially Jiangxi, Hunan and six other provinces and regions, according to the Central Meteorological Observatory.

Gao Jianguo, a member of the National Disaster Reduction Committee, told the Global Times that safety QR codes can be promoted in other regions where natural disasters frequently happen, such as Fujian Province and Guizhou Province.