BEIJING — China’s capacity in earthquake monitoring and disaster relief has improved over the past ten years, said a report submitted to the top legislature on Oct 23.

The report was prepared after an inspection was completed on the enforcement of the Law on Protecting Against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters, which was promulgated in 1997 and amended in 2008.

A new generation of earthquake monitoring and warning systems have been installed along more than 20 high-speed railway lines (spanning 6,642 kilometers), said the report, adding that progress has also been made with a volcano monitoring system and a South China Sea tsunami warning center.

In terms of earthquake response, over 22,700 emergency shelters have been built and an earthquake rescue force of some 200,000 workers are on call for deployment.

To further strengthen the country’s earthquake response capacity, the report calls for bigger investments in earthquake-related technologies, stronger reinforcement of old buildings and better coordination between agencies in sharing information.