BEIJING — Chinese emergency rescue teams should be fully prepared for this year’s flood season, according to an official with the country’s work safety authority.

Extreme weather events have become more frequent in recent years, including rainstorms, high temperatures and typhoons, posing serious threats to people’s lives and homes, Sun Huashan, deputy head of the State Administration of Work Safety said at a meeting on May 5.

Emergency rescue teams should step up training and drills, conduct preventive safety checks, become expert in local natural conditions and sources of danger, and prepare emergency response resources well in advance, Sun said.

They should be active in disaster relief during the flood season this year and use their expertise to save lives and property, he added.

In China, the flood season can run from April to October due to a wide range of latitudes.

In 2016, natural disasters caused over 1,700 deaths and direct economic losses of 500 billion yuan ($73 billion), data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed.