China's natural disasters have the following main features:

(A) many types of disasters. China's natural disasters are mainly meteorological disasters, earthquake disasters, geological disasters, marine disasters, biological disasters and forest grassland fires. In addition to modern volcanic activity, almost all natural disasters have occurred in China.

(B) a wide geographical distribution. China's provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) are affected to varying degrees by natural disasters, more than 70% of the city, more than 50% of the population in the meteorological, earthquake, geological, marine and other natural disasters serious areas. More than two-thirds of the country's land area is threatened by flooding. The eastern, southern coastal areas and some inland provinces are frequently hit by tropical cyclones. Northeast, northwest, north China and other regions frequent drought, southwest, south China and other places serious drought has occurred. All provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) have occurred more than five destructive earthquakes. Accounting for 69% of the mountainous land area, plateau region due to complex geological structure, landslides, landslides, landslides and other geological disasters occur frequently.

(C) the occurrence of high frequency. China is strongly affected by the monsoon climate, frequent meteorological disasters, local or regional drought almost every year there will be an annual average of the eastern coastal area of about 7 tropical cyclones landed. China is located in the Eurasian, Pacific and Indian Ocean three plate intersection, active tectonic movement, seismic activity is very frequent, the mainland earthquake accounts for one third of the global land destructive earthquake, is the world's largest earthquake in the country. Forest and grassland fires occur from time to time.

(D) causing heavy losses. During 1990-2008, the average annual number of people affected by various kinds of natural disasters was about 300 million. More than 3 million houses were collapsed and more than 9 million people were resettled. The direct economic loss was more than 200 billion yuan. Especially in the Yangtze River in 1998, the Songhua River and the Nen River Basin floods in 2006 in Sichuan, Chongqing, a major drought occurred in 2007 in the Huaihe River Basin floods in 2008 in southern China's large areas of low-temperature rain and snow Frozen disasters, as well as in May 12, 2008 occurred in Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi and other places of Wenchuan earthquake disaster, have caused significant losses.

Source: Atlas of China's Natural Disaster System