China needs stronger steps to promote public preparedness and early warning systems for natural disasters, experts said ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake.

　　The government will release its first white paper on disaster prevention and reduction on May 12, the country's first national disaster prevention day. The day is set to commemorate the Sichuan earthquake last May which left more than 80,000 people dead and missing in southwest China.

　　To make the day, governments across the country have started education campaigns to publicize knowledge on disaster prevention and emergency rescue.