Facts & Figures: China on disaster prevention

Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-12 14:47:46|Editor: An
Video PlayerClose

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Friday marked China's national day for disaster prevention and relief, which commemorates the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake that left more than 80,000 people dead or missing.

The day was established in 2009 to raise public awareness of disaster prevention and to increase knowledge and skills to enable survivors to better cope during and after disasters, according to China National Commission for Disaster Reduction.

The theme for 2017 is to reduce disaster risks in local communities and enhance relief capabilities at grass-roots levels. Across the country authorities have told government agencies, hospitals, schools and communities to improve their emergency plans.

China has suffered some large-scale natural disasters, from extreme weather to geological events, causing huge losses of life and property.

Following are some facts and figures about China's major natural disasters and government efforts to reduce losses.

-- Major disasters include torrential floods, severe droughts, extreme winter storms and massive earthquakes. In a guideline published in January, central authorities warned of the "complicated and serious" situation with regard to natural disasters.

Insufficient information sharing, lack of preventive planning and low public awareness are among the issues that need improvement.

-- From 2011 to 2015, an average of 310 million people were affected by disasters each year, according to the commission.

-- Natural disasters left 1,432 people dead and 274 others missing nationwide in 2016.

In addition, over 521,000 houses were destroyed and another 3.34 million were damaged to varying degrees. Disasters affected about 26.6 million hectares of farmland, with more than 2.9 million hectares destroyed.

-- Natural disasters caused the deaths of 32 people in the first quarter of 2017, and another 39 were hospitalized. They also affected the lives of nearly 1.96 million people, with 16,000 displaced.

Authorities estimated economic losses of 1.87 billion yuan (271 million U.S. dollars) in the first quarter on 2017, less than the same period in the past eight years.

-- Chinese authorities will improve the country's capacity to cope with catastrophic events. A shift in priority from relief to prevention is required to improve disaster management, from divided efforts to comprehensive preparation, and from mitigating damage to addressing risk.

Resource coordination must be improved, and responsibilities between central and local authorities further clarified. Ongoing education will help increase public awareness, according to a guideline published by the Communist Part of China Central Committee and State Council in January.

Public and private organizations should both participate in disaster management. International cooperation and increased financial support will further reduce risks.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011106041362769971